Vae Victis
by twentythirteen
Summary: A former child soldier and a group of automatons known as 'Tactical Dolls' in the employment of the PMC Grifon and Kryuger find themselves embroiled in a conflict which threatens to ignite a catastrophic AI Armageddon. As they fight through countless battlefields, these soldiers face the dark and bloody sides of corporations, governments, and themselves. [Slight AU]
1. Krung Thep I

_A/N: Hello, and thanks for reading. I've known about Girls' Frontline for some time now, but I didn't start actually playing it until the English release, and now that I have, I thought I'd write on a story based on it. I like writing things like this because it gives me an opportunity to write about something that interests me and then put my own spin on it. However, that does mean that there will be some obvious differences from the game's story. Namely, this will not follow the game's story and will be set in a slightly different timeline, though most of the characters and organizations will remain the same._

 _Also, just an additional warning: the content of this story may end up being pretty dark, and the commander character himself is also... Well, not very moral is how I'll put it. I thought it would be interesting to write an MC who deviates from norm in this way, but I am aware that this will put off a lot of people, so you probably shouldn't bother with this if you need the MC to be a good guy._

 _Anyway, I remember when this section only had one story in it, so it's nice to see it getting more activity. This will be my contribution, as minor and as niche as it may be. I don't know how often I'll update this, so I guess it depends on my own interest and the audience's as time goes on. Either way, thanks again for reading, and I'll stop this long-ass author's note here and get on with the story._

* * *

 _ **07/24/2006**_

 _ **2100 hours**_

 _ **Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America**_

 _Bright lights from the numerous hotels and signs lit up the summer night in the desert, and the city of Las Vegas was alive with the sound of cars and people talking and laughing. A family of three stood upon one of the bridges that went over the busy streets, giving them a good look out over the strip._

 _A child with light brown, almost orange, hair and turquoise eyes stared at his surroundings with wonder, completely captivated by the sensory overload of the Las Vegas Strip._

" _He must be bored," a woman, the child's mother, said with a frown. "He's just standing there. There's nothing for a kid to do on the Las Vegas Strip, is there?"_

 _A man, the child's father, replied. "He's 'bored'? Are you kidding me? Just look at him, haha! The kid's entranced!"_

 _The woman walked over to her son, who barely even noticed his mother approaching because of how intently he was focused on the city. Smiling, his mother patted him on the head._

" _Are you having fun, Ralph?" she asked._

 _The boy grinned at his mother and then went back to staring at the glamorous hotels._

 _The woman laughed, turning to her husband. "Well, it looks like you were right. Ralph is usually so shy and reserved! I didn't think he would like a place like this."_

" _Opposites attract, I guess," the man shrugged. He too then joined his wife and child as they looked out over the city. "But you know, it really is nice to be here like this. With the situation being as bad as it is, this may be one of our last chances to go on a vacation…"_

" _Right… I never thought the world would get so close to another war," the woman sighed. "And in a few days, it's back to work again. Do we really have to go all the way to Africa?"_

" _That's where the company we need to contract is based right now, so unfortunately."_

" _I still don't understand why the military needs the help of a private mercenary group," the woman said, distaste evident in her tone. "Grifon & Kryuger, right? What's so good about them? And why are they based out of Africa?"_

" _They're not based out of Africa. It just happens to be where they are conducting operations at the moment," the father corrected. "And don't ask me why the government needs them, I'm just an engineer._ You're _the diplomat."_

" _But they want to buy your product. The 'Tactical Dolls' or whatever."_

 _The man chuckled. "They're not 'my product,' haha. Though I wish I could take credit for creating that technology…"_

" _Well, you're part of the company that developed them, so it's close enough," the woman countered. "Either way, the explanation I was given was that these dolls would be able to change the way war is fought and would be helpful in preventing an outright nuclear war. I don't see how that's possible, but…"_

" _Eh, maybe it has something to do with the war being fought by T-Dolls instead of humans?" the man suggested. "I don't know, though. I doubt we can even produce that many units so as to completely get rid of the need for human combatants, so that may just be wishful thinking. G &K are going to be our test subjects, so we'll see after that, I guess."_

" _Hm… Well, we'll just have to do our jobs and hope for the best," the woman decided, then glanced at her son, who was still occupied with the city lights. "But do we really need to bring Ralph with us? The country we're going to is dangerous."_

" _It's not like there's actual fighting going on there. Even G &K is just there to supervise government forces," the man told her. "Also, we'll have an armed escort the whole time just in case. It might even be safer than leaving him at home here in the US, to be honest."_

" _I suppose," the woman agreed in the end. She tapped her son on the head. "Are you ready to go now, Ralph? We can't stand here all night, right?"_

 _The boy turned to his mother with a disappointed frown._

 _His father grinned. "Okay, how about we get down to the streets and see the hotels up close? We can even go inside a few of them."_

 _Ralph perked up at that and nodded._

 _His mother also smiled at seeing the boy's enthusiasm. "Oh, children get excited by just about anything, don't they? Let's go then, Ralph. Maybe we can see the fountain show too."_

" _Ooh, a fountain show?" the man repeated, evidently more excited by that than his son was. "Sounds fun! Come here, Ralph."_

 _The man hoisted his son up onto his shoulders. "There. Now you can see the city even when we're down on the streets."_

 _The child giggled as he took in the city again from atop his father's shoulders._

 _The mother smiled again as she looked at them. "Hmm… I initially thought coming here as our last vacation before the war was a bad idea, but you know… I'm glad we're here._

 _The father glanced up at his child, who was now focused back on the city lights._

" _Yeah… Me too."_

* * *

"Great. It looks like it's going to rain now," WA2000 groaned as she glanced up at the darkening sky.

"Oh, no. I don't want to get wet," DSR-50 said with a sigh.

Kar98k frowned at her two companions. "It's just some rain. Our combat uniforms are water resistant anyway."

"But my hair," DSR-50 complained. "And I've heard about these Southeast Asian storms. They're pretty rough!"

"It smells terrible here too," WA2000 added, crinkling her nose in disgust.

The three Tactical Dolls stood on the wooden docks on the outskirts of a small Thai town, right by the local fish market. They had disembarked from the boat that delivered them here moments earlier, and now they were to wait for their escort that would bring them to the G&K base where they would be stationed. According to the briefing that the dolls received, the base was relatively new, but given the recent defeat of G&K forces at the Battle of Kunming in China, it just so happened that this base now became G&K's most important one in the region. Therefore, despite its newness, the base was being reinforced, and the three German snipers were unlucky enough to be part of that reinforcement.

The T-Dolls each carried a case on their back that concealed their rifles, as it wouldn't be good if they just openly carried their weapons around. Even so, they still drew a great amount of attention to themselves, and many of the market's shoppers stared at the strange-looking but beautiful girls waiting on the docks.

"What's taking the escort so long?" WA2000 demanded to know, evidently uncomfortable with all the looks.

"We've only been here for a few minutes," DSR-50 reminded her. "Perhaps we should give them some more time?"

"Hmph. They should have been here waiting before we even got off the ship," WA2000 insisted. "I can't believe we have to stand here in this humidity…"

As soon as WA2000 finished speaking, she began to hear the distant rumble of a car's engine. Sure enough, seconds later an open-top jeep drove up to the fish market, and two people exited the vehicle. One of them was a young girl with red hair and cerulean blue eyes, and she wore a white long-sleeved dress shirt on top of a black skirt. A loose red tie hung around her collar, and a pair of red glasses were pushed up onto her head. The second figure was a tall man with who wore a similar outfit, though he lacked the tie and had black slacks on. He had tangerine-colored hair and greenish-blue eyes, and his messy hairstyle added to his disheveled look.

"That must be them," DSR-50 nudged WA2000.

By now, a small crowd had gathered at the docks, in part due to the jeep's noise and also because the locals wanted to stare at the T-Dolls. The two G&K employees tried to make their way to the three waiting on the docks, but the crowd of villagers, who had now begun to chatter among themselves curiously, made it very difficult to do so. The T-Dolls watched as the man, fed up with the crowd, pulled out a pistol and fired it into the air and towards the sea. The group of people flinched and began yelling at the sound, some of them running away in fear. The man put down his gun and the locals quickly realized that he wanted them to clear a path, and they gave him angry and annoyed looks as they dispersed.

"Fuckin' unbelievable," the man muttered as he and the girl walked up to the T-Dolls. "So you three are the reinforcements, huh? All right… I like it."

"W-what's that supposed to mean!" WA2000 blushed as the man smirked.

"Such beautiful hair," the man said as he reached out and grabbed a strand of her maroon locks.

WA2000 slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me! What is wrong with you?!"

"Woah there," the man backed up, but he didn't look any less smug. "Is that any way you should be speaking to your new commander?"

"Huh?!" WA2000 wore a look of shock.

"Yeah, that's right," the man grinned. "You T-Dolls are programmed to obey your commanding officer, right? Well, you're looking at him. You'll have to do _anything_ I say…"

"Um, before this goes too far, I think we should introduce ourselves," the red-haired girl cut in. She smiled at the T-Dolls. "Hi! My name is Kalina. I'm one of the officers at the base here."

"Nice to meet you. I am DSR-50," DSR-50 introduced, returning Kalina's smile and seemingly unperturbed at the supposed commander's actions.

"Kar98k, reporting for duty," Kar98k saluted.

They all then stared expectantly at WA2000, who was still flustered from before.

"Uh, I-I'm WA2000. D-don't get in my way, okay!"

"Well, that's an interesting introduction," the man smirked again at WA2000. "Anyway, they call me Ralphie around here. And I was just joking about the commander thing. I'm actually just the vice-commander of this base."

"Oh? They sent two officers as an escort? How thoughtful," DSR-50 said, smiling seductively at the vice-commander.

"Well, this base doesn't have many personnel to be honest, and the few mercs we do have are usually busy drinking or whoring in town," Ralph admitted. "But I have to say… I am _very_ glad I came today."

DSR-50 giggled at that, but WA2000 only bristled even more.

"You sure don't act like an officer, _sir_ ," WA2000 spat.

Ralph shrugged. "Fuck if I care. It's not like I was actually in any official military organization or anything."

"Is that so?" Kar98k spoke up, raising an eyebrow. "Pardon my presumptuousness, but what exactly are you doing here, then?"

"Ask that question to whoever assigned me here," Ralph laughed. "But honestly, I guess I was just a good fit. Jungle and urban warfare in hot and humid environments happens to be my specialty."

"Sir, we should get going soon," Kalina interrupted. "We are drawing too much attention to ourselves, especially after you fired that handgun…"

"Yeah, all right. Let's go, then."

The group got into the jeep, some more reluctantly than others. Ralph took up the position of driver while Kalina sat beside him in the passenger's seat, leaving the three T-Dolls in the back. As the vice-commander started up the engine and got the jeep back onto the rough village road, Kalina turned to face the T-Dolls.

"How much have you girls been told about the situation down here?" Kalina asked them.

The three Germans glanced at each other.

"Not much," Kar98k answered. "We were simply told that we were to reinforce a new base in Thailand."

"Oh. Well, there's way more to it than that," Kalina grinned. "You do know about the Battle of Kunming, right?"

The three nodded.

"Okay. Then you know that the League forces were defeated? Wait, firstly, do you know what the League of Nations even is?"

"Of course. It's G&K's biggest client," WA2000 answered.

"They are led by officials from the pre-war governments of various countries, correct?" DSR-50 added. "I believe we were programmed with this information."

Kalina nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't exactly sure what you know and don't know, so I was just being thorough. Anyway, yeah, the League of Nations basically just want to restore the world to the way it used to be before the war and reinstall themselves in positions of power. They're also paying us a _lot_ of money to help them, so that's what most of our operations are about. Unfortunately, there are plenty of new governments and opposing mercenary groups who want power for themselves, so that's why the globe right now is just a never-ending series of battlefields. It's pretty chaotic."

"And the Battle of Kunming was fought against Sangvis Ferri troops, right?" Kar98k asked for confirmation.

"Yeah. League representatives from India and China sent as many troops as they could, but given that they have their own conflicts to fight, they couldn't focus all their strength on this battle specifically, so about half of the army was made up of G&K regulars. Sangvis Ferri sent in their own mercenaries and T-Dolls, and though we outnumbered them, they managed to beat us pretty badly. Now, in order to consolidate their hold on the region, they're marching on Bangkok, and that's why you're all here. The remnants of the defeated League and G&K army will be coming down to help us defend Bangkok from Sangvis Ferri as well, but other than them, it looks like our base will be at the frontlines."

"Those odds don't sound very good…" DSR-50 worried with a frown.

"That's an understatement," Ralph threw in from the driver's seat. "We're probably going to be completely wiped out by Sangvis Ferri, haha."

"Right. Thanks for the encouraging words, Vice-Commander," Kalina said sarcastically, giving him a sour look. "Anyway, we're supposed to march to Bangkok soon in order to defend the city… Your first operation with us will probably be a huge battle. Sorry."

Kar98k wore a look of confidence. "No need to apologize. This is what we were built to do."

"All right, we're here," Ralph announced as he stopped the jeep in front of a relatively large concrete compound. "Welcome to the base."

"It looks very… Brutalistic," DSR-50 noted as she stepped out of the car.

"Tch. Even the base itself is terrible," WA2000 spat.

Ralph grinned. "Oh, you think this is bad? Wait until you see the inside."

Kalina sighed at her vice-commander's baiting, then turned to the T-Dolls. "Since this base wasn't initially intended to be of much importance, G&K didn't allocate a lot of funding to its construction. Because of that, most of the money went into making sure the T-Doll repair facilities and the supply portion of the base were well-furnished, which means that the living quarters and basically everything else went down in quality."

"Just what I wanted to hear…" WA2000 sighed.

"Come on, I thought you were supposed to be a soldier," Ralph continued to taunt her. "Someone with a little princess attitude like yourselves won't survive two seconds at this dirty base full of degenerates."

WA2000 grit her teeth. "I _am_ a soldier! And don't act so high and mighty! You're only the vice-commander of a base that was originally irrelevant, so there's nothing special about you!"

"Actually, I was just transferred here recently too," Ralph corrected. "I was back at G&K Headquarters before now, so I was sent here specifically for this battle. That and because the previous vice-commander died at Kunming."

"So if you're the vice-commander, then where is the commander?" Kar98k then asked.

"You're about to meet him," Ralph said. "Just a warning, though, you probably won't like him. He's a former pastor and a hard-ass, and I think there might be something wrong with him psychologically. Anyway, let's get going. Can't keep the boss waiting."

The T-Dolls followed Ralph and Kalina into the base. The inside of the base was just as bare as the outside, and the hot, humid hallways were simply concrete corridors with small windows at the end. The two officers led them to a closed door, and Ralph knocked on it.

"Come in," a deep, harsh voice sounded from the other side.

Ralph turned to the group. "Well, you're on your own from now on. I've got things to do."

The vice-commander walked off, leaving Kalina with the T-Dolls.

Kalina shook her head. "As you can see, the Vice-Commander and the Commander don't really get along. Anyway, let's go."

The four entered to find a man seated at a mahogany desk at the back of the mostly-barebones room. The man was very large, and he wore military fatigues, which was what most G&K employees were issued outside of their red, white, and black dress uniform. However, what was most striking about him was that he wore a black ski mask which covered most of his face.

Kalina saluted. "Sir. These are the Tactical Dolls that were scheduled for reinforcement."

The three T-Dolls followed suit and saluted as well.

The commander nodded to them. "Only three? Very well. I am Commander Kinkaid, the chief officer of this base. I trust Kalina and the Vice-Commander have already briefed you on the important matters, so I will keep this short: as Tactical Dolls, you three are machines of war, nothing more and nothing less. You are to defeat and kill the enemy, and if you cannot do that, you are useless. If you do not follow my orders, you are useless. If you die, you are useless. The time will come soon enough where you will prove your worth, but until then, stay out of my way and perform your duties as expected. That is all."

"Sir," Kalina saluted again and hurriedly ushered the T-Dolls out of the office.

"It seems the Vice-Commander was right. The Commander is quite unpleasant," Kar98k observed once they were out.

"Oh, please. As if the Vice-Commander himself is any better," WA2000 scoffed.

Kalina, who was leading them to another location in the base, turned to them. "If you three want some advice from someone who's been at this base for a while and knew Ralphie before he was assigned here, then take it from me: the Commander may be harsh and does not care about his men other than their combat capabilities, but he is _far_ more preferable than any of the other men at this base, especially Ralphie. These people are incredibly dangerous and depraved, and even though I know they can't hurt me since I've been sent directly by G&K HQ, I can't say I like being around them."

Kar98k tilted her head in confusion. "Is that so? But the Vice-Commander didn't seem so bad aside from his rudeness."

"Yeah… You don't truly know him," Kalina said with a grim expression. "Like me, Ralphie is a World War III orphan, but unlike me, he had an extremely rough upbringing. He was born in America to relatively wealthy parents, so it started out well enough, but he had the misfortune of being in Africa when the war broke out. He and his parents were caught up in the intense civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and his parents were brutally murdered there. Ten years later when G&K and League forces finally achieved a breakthrough and defeated the rebels in Kinshasa, they found him fighting as a child soldier on the side of the anti-government forces."

"So… He was being serious when he said he wasn't from an official military organization?" Kar98k asked. "I thought G&K operators were mostly made up of former military or government-sanctioned PMC employees."

"... Where we you three stationed before this?" Kalina questioned.

"The G&K base in Berlin," WA2000 answered.

"Ah, so that explains it. Yes, most of the G&K operators at the bigger main bases are professional soldiers from well-established organizations," Kalina agreed. "However, once you go away from the main bases, G&K starts to care less about appearances and more about results, and so we end up hiring mercenaries who come from all sorts of backgrounds. The mercenaries here are from street gangs, prisons, less-reputable PMCs, Third World armies, and places like that. Unfortunately, Ralphie and his ilk are pretty common in bases like ours."

"That sounds ridiculous!" WA2000 declared. "Those are the types of people Sangvis Ferri hires! Are you telling me that we're really like them?!"

Kalina shrugged. "That's just how it is. In today's world, we can't afford the luxury of only hiring the most prim and proper mercenaries. The disheveled state of most countries results in these unsavory types being the most common, and so we either hire them or we get steamrolled by Sangvis Ferri due to a lack of manpower."

"So is that why you need us?" DSR-50 brought up.

"Yes. But T-Dolls are very, very expensive to manufacture, especially their cores," Kalina told them. "Therefore, we can't afford to just stock our army full of T-Dolls."

"Were there any fighting at Kunming?" WA2000 asked, curious.

Kalina looked troubled. "The former vice-commander of this base actually had a squad of four T-Dolls under his command for that battle specifically, but we lost all contact with them after the battle. Most of us have assumed that they're dead, but we never recovered their bodies, so I'm not sure. Also, Sangvis Ferri would probably use their corpses as propaganda if they really were dead, but since we haven't heard anything from them either, it's possible that they're MIA rather than dead."

Kalina then stopped in front of a door, which she opened to reveal a spartan room furnished only with a lineup of uncomfortable looking beds. The walls, ceiling, and flooring were all made of concrete like the rest of the base, and a single small window was carved into the far end of the room.

"These will be your quarters," Kalina told them. "There's a bathroom right over there, but other than that, it's pretty bare… Oh, and don't leave the window open for too long or the mosquitoes will get in. Aside from that, please put your stuff down in here and then I'll show you around the rest of the base."

All three T-Dolls looked unenthused at the prospect of living in such a space, but nevertheless, they complied and put down their gun cases next to the beds.

"Okay, now I'll show you where the dining hall -"

"Still showing them around?"

The vice-commander had returned, and he peeked his head in to the room.

"Yes. We should be done soon, though," Kalina replied. "Did you need them for something?"

"Not really," Ralph waved her off. "Oh, by the way, I'll be returning to the base late tonight. Tell whoever the fuck's on guard duty not to shoot me."

"Roger that," Kalina said as Ralph exited.

"Where is he going? A mission?" Kar98k asked.

"Probably to partake in that 'drinking and whoring' he mentioned earlier," WA2000 guessed with disdain.

"Well… That's certainly possible," Kalina admitted with a sheepish smile. "Actually, let's hope that's what he's doing…"

"Oh? What's that supposed to mean?" DSR-50 wondered.

"Oh, uh, forget I said anything," Kalina hurriedly covered up.

Kar98k gave her a look. "Come now, Miss Kalina. That only made us even more curious."

Kalina sighed. "Fine, but you didn't hear this from me, and it's just a rumor anyway. Since Ralphie first showed up on the base a month ago, there have been a couple of disappearances in the village nearby. Rumor has it that Ralphie kidnapped them, killed them, and then ate their corpses."

WA2000 recoiled in revolt. "He did _what_?!"

"Calm down, it's just a rumor!" Kalina waved her hands. "But yeah… The insurgent group that Ralphie fought with back in the Congo _was_ known to eat people from time to time, so… Some of the mercenaries here on the base even call him the 'Cannibal Commander' because of that, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to say that to his face. For all we know, it's just a dumb rumor someone decided to spread once they found out about his background."

"So then… The disappearances?" Kar98k brought up again.

"A third world country in a post-nuclear world isn't exactly a safe place, so disappearances and murders and other crimes are pretty common," Kalina told her. "The more likely explanation is that the disappearances are just related to some sort of crime or feud among the villagers, but that doesn't make for as good of a story, so people decide to go with the more interesting take."

"I see," Kar98k nodded. "Then we'll leave it that. Best not to spread bad information, especially about our own commanders. For now, I'd say it's best we trust that he's done nothing wrong."

* * *

Ralph stalked through the jungle foliage, silently making his way towards a clearing in the distance. He walked quickly but quietly, more out of habit than by some sort of conscious decision. His hand lingered over the machete that always hung on his belt, though this too was mostly an unconscious action that was the result of years of combat in the African bush. Eventually he reached the clearing, though he remained hidden in the tall grass and leafy plants.

On the edge of the clearing and clearly visible to Ralph was a lone female figure. Her stance was relaxed, and she leaned back on the trunk of a tree, her arms crossed and her eyes closed. Slung on her back was a large weapon fitted with a scope and suppressor.

"Stop slinking around. I know you're there," she suddenly called out.

Ralph smirked as he stepped into the clearing. "Hm? Your skills certainly haven't dulled, AR-15."

She regarded him with an unamused expression. "Of course not. But it has less to do with my skills and more to do with the fact that you told me to meet you at this location and at this time, so I was already expecting you here."

"I guess so," Ralph shrugged. "So… What have you got this time?"

"That can wait. I want to know what happened at Kunming," ST AR-15 demanded, her tone serious.

"Uh, you're asking the wrong guy. I wasn't posted here until after that happened, and you know that," Ralph replied. "Just hurry up and -"

"You are still the vice-commander of the base here. You're really trying to tell me you haven't been informed about the situation?" she interrupted forcefully. "Tell me everything you know."

"Fine, whatever," Ralph relented. "It's probably just the same as what you've heard. Sangvis Ferri forces defeated our army at Kunming, and the former vice-commander of this base along with the four members of the AR Team went missing. They may even be dead, who knows."

AR-15 remained silent for a bit. "... That's all you know?"

"For now, yes. There's going to be a battle at Bangkok, and if we defeat Sangvis Ferri there, then we might learn more."

"I see." AR-15's expression remained neutral, but her blue eyes darkened with emotion. "Then I want you to search for them during and after the battle. Even if they're dead, I want to know."

"Well, I have other things to worry about," Ralph told her. "Like, you know… Trying to win a battle against superior forces? Don't know if I'm going to have time to look for your buddies."

"Then you can consider our agreement voided."

Ralph's mouth twisted into a vicious scowl. "This is your first and only warning: don't make an enemy out of me."

AR-15 returned his look with a cold glare of her own. "The same goes for me."

After a brief but tense silence, Ralph smirked and raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, I'll do what I can. No promises, though."

AR-15 nodded. "Then here… This is what I've found."

She handed Ralph a short report. The vice-commander quickly looked it over.

"So this is basically saying that the United States is impenetrable from the Eastern Seaboard," Ralph concluded. "What about the West Coast?"

"I don't know. This was all the visiting officers in Germany had on them."

Ralph rubbed his chin. "Hm… This doesn't really do me any good, then… Can't you get more information?"

AR-15 glared at him again. "Do you know the things I had to do to get this information?"

"I honestly don't care. If you don't get results, then it's pointless," Ralph said dismissively. "Besides, we both know you've been through much worse."

"Right…" Restless fury boiled behind AR-15's eyes as she recalled unpleasant events. "Speaking of that… Do you have any information for _me_ this time?"

"I told you over the phone that I didn't," Ralph shook his head. "I'm working on it, though. How about next time we both have what the other wants, all right?"

"Fine. Then I will see you in Bangkok after Sangvis Ferri is repulsed, assuming that you survive until then."

Ralph gave her a lazy, two-fingered salute. "Yeah, sure."

ST AR-15 then walked off, disappearing into the jungle. Ralph stood in the clearing for a bit longer, glancing down at the report that she handed him. A few moments later, he collected himself and began his return trip to the base.

When he got back to the base, he decided to head back to his room and just go to sleep. The meeting with AR-15 had been rather short, but for some reason, he was very exhausted by it. As he walked through the halls, he noticed Kalina and the new T-Dolls talking together in the dining hall, but he just continued past until he reached his room.

He spent a few minutes getting ready for bed and then collapsed in his rather uncomfortable cot, the humidity in the room making his clothes stick to his skin. Nevertheless, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

He began fading off to sleep, but unsurprisingly, he was continuously jerked back awake when his mind began to drift off to the more disturbing experiences he had in his life. The lash of the whip, the metallic scent of blood, burnt flesh and screams of fear, the feeling of a knife digging into his skin… A whole demonic medley kept him awake.

However, another memory suddenly flooded his senses. Bright lights against the night sky, a feeling of warmth… Slowly but surely, the lights lulled him to sleep, and he was at peace again.


	2. Krung Thep II

**07/07/2024**

 **1400 hours**

 **Bangkok, Thailand**

"... Is there really going to be a battle here?" WA2000 asked with concern as she glanced around the streets of Bangkok. People were moving about freely, and life seemed to be going on as normal in the bustling city.

"Indeed. It appears the citizens of this city simply do not care," Kar98k noticed as well.

DSR-50 smiled at the scene. "Mm. But still, it's very lively. I like it."

"Yeah, these people don't give a fuck."

The three T-dolls turned to see their vice-commander walking towards them. Ralph wore an easy smile and a pair of aviator shades as he walked around with an AK-47 propped up against his shoulder. He also wore a combat vest over his white shirt, but aside from that, the rest of this outfit was the same as normal. One other thing that was different, though, was that he had exchanged his handgun for a machete, which hung from his belt in a dirty leather sheath.

"They don't care because why should they?" he continued as he stopped beside them, pausing to pull out some chewing tobacco he had wrapped in some paper. "Living in a Third World city after the nuclear war isn't exactly a pleasant experience. When the gunfire starts, they'll just wait it out in their homes and then go back to whatever it was that they were doing. Probably nothing out of the ordinary for most of them."

"That seems… Warped," Kar98k said.

Ralph shrugged. "Eh, not really much else they can do. They can't evacuate; where're they gonna go? Sucks for them, but whatever."

The four then noticed a large figure in full combat gear approaching, and the black mask covering his face indicated that it was the commander. The T-dolls all snapped to salute him, but Ralph didn't bother.

"Everyone else has begun setting up their defensive positions," Commander Kinkaid said, speaking directly to Ralph. "You would do well to do the same. Do not waste time here."

"Sure, got it," Ralph replied with a smirk.

"Um, sir, if I may," Kar98k stopped the commander as he made to leave. "Um, well… What should the Tactical Dolls do? You haven't given us any specific orders."

Commander Kinkaid turned his steely gaze on them. "You three are under the Vice-Commander's jurisdiction for this operation. I personally want nothing to do with you unnatural machines."

With that, the commander stalked off, leaving the T-dolls frowning in distaste.

"How rude!" WA2000 spat. "'Unnatural machines'?! Why would he call us that!"

"I mean… You _are_ androids, not actual people," Ralph pointed out. "Not that it matters, of course. I bet you'd bleed and scream just like the rest of us given the right situation."

"That aside," Kar98k quickly changed the subject, "what are your orders then, Vice-Commander?"

Ralph spit out a red stream of saliva and tobacco as he surveyed the city. "Hm… Haven't thought that far ahead yet, to be honest."

"Wha -? We have a battle to fight!" WA2000 yelled at him. "Sangvis Ferri is marching on the city as we speak! You can't seriously tell me -"

"Woah, settle down there," Ralph interrupted. "We _do_ have a plan, you know. A pretty rough one, but yeah. We're supposed to just sit in the city and hold them off with guerrilla tactics since they outnumber us, and then wait for the remnants of the League army to flank them."

"That is indeed very rough," Kar98k observed with a frown. "So 'guerrilla tactics' is our battle strategy? This operation seems doomed to fail."

"Wow, thanks for the optimism," Ralph chuckled. "But don't worry. Guerrilla tactics is my specialty, so our squad will be fine. As for the rest, I don't give a fuck what happens to them. They can all die for all I care, especially the Commander."

"But… Won't Sangvis Ferri just hunt us down and kill us if we lose this battle?" DSR-50 asked. "It won't matter if our squad survives the initial skirmish if Sangvis Ferri just ends up taking the city anyway."

Ralph scratched his head absently. "Er… Yeah, I guess… Like I said, we'll figure it out eventually. For now, I think I'm gonna see if the red light district here is any good."

Before any of the T-dolls could stop him, the vice-commander had already disappeared into the crowd.

"... We're all going to die here, aren't we?" WA20000 said, deflated.

"Now, now. The Vice-Commander said we'll figure it out, right?" DSR-50 replied with a teasing smile.

Kar98k crossed her arms and sighed. "It seems the commanders at this base are rather incompetent, so we can't rely on them. If we want to survive this battle, we'll have to figure something out ourselves."

"Yeah, right. What can three soldiers do on their own?" WA2000 shot back bitterly.

Kar98k smirked at her. "But we are no ordinary soldiers. We are Tactical Dolls, are we not? The whole point of our existence is to change the nature of war and tip the scale of battle. As if we could ever be taken out by regular soldiers."

"But Sangvis Ferri has T-dolls too," WA2000 countered.

"Yes, but only a few. Remember what Kalina said? The former vice-commander and his squad of T-dolls managed to take out many of the Sangvis Ferri T-dolls at Kunming."

"I suppose admitting defeat right now is too early," DSR-50 decided. "I don't plan to die here, you know. Let's win this fight."

WA2000 sighed, but she too eventually agreed. "Yeah. We'll show them the power of German snipers!"

"What's this? A pep talk?" Kalina's voice sounded from behind the T-dolls.

"Oh, Miss Kalina," Kar98k greeted. "We were just discussing the upcoming battle. I see you're prepared as well."

Kalina, unlike Ralph, had traded out her usual uniform for something more fitting for the battlefield. She wore combat fatigues and a combat vest along with a utility belt, and a pistol was strapped to her side.

"Ehehe, I don't know about that," Kalina grinned sheepishly. "I'm just going to hang back in the rear, but this is still my first actual fight, so I'm kind of nervous…"

"Well, if you're nervous, then you can stick with us," Kar98k offered. "We'll be able to protect you."

"But you're going to be fighting on the frontlines," Kalina said. "Er, not that I don't trust your skills! It's just that…"

"It's all right," DSR-50 assured her. "You're right, it will be dangerous on the front, especially given our lack of a general strategy."

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," Kalina apologized. "The Commander is a great soldier but not much of a strategist, and most of the actual tactical thinking was left up to the former vice-commander."

"But the current vice-commander doesn't seem to be continuing that tradition," WA2000 sourly noted.

Kalina smiled sympathetically. "Yeah… Ralphie was absent at the strategy meeting, so it was really just me and the Commander, and I didn't even get to say anything…"

"Don't worry, we will win," Kar98k grinned at Kalina. "Even without a strategy, T-dolls are not easy to kill. We have been trained for these situations."

"Yeah, I hope so," Kalina replied with an unsure smile. "Anyway, good luck, then. I'll be back at the base camp at the Wat Arun temple just in case you need me."

"So… Are we going to come up with an actual plan now?" DSR-50 asked as they watched Kalina walk away.

"Yes, we probably should," Kar98k frowned. "The only problem is that we're not really built for this. T-dolls can make good tactical decisions, but our AI isn't structured towards grand strategy. This is why we're supposed to have commanders, but…"

WA2000 sighed in frustration. "Is a commander who knows what he's doing really too much to ask for? Why is this happening to us!"

"I didn't mean to get you all depressed again," DSR-50 said disapprovingly. "Come on. I'm sure we can think of something if we put our computing powers together?"

The three T-dolls stood on the side of the street, each of them trying to think up a way that would let them win this battle.

"Ugh, I can't think like this! It's too noisy here!" WA2000 complained.

"Perhaps we should go for a walk?" Kar98k suggested. "Something along the way may inspire us. And besides, if this place is to become a battlefield, it is best that we know of any good sniping spots beforehand."

The other two T-dolls agreed with her proposal, and so they began exploring the streets of Bangkok. They kept to the main roads where there were a lot of people, but surprisingly, only a few stopped to gawk at their strange appearances. It seemed most of the city's people were either to busy or too uncaring to stop and stare at the T-dolls, and though the T-dolls carried their guns with them, even that didn't draw too much attention because there were plenty of other mercenaries and armed citizens roaming the streets.

"This place is pretty different from Berlin," WA2000 observed as they passed through a section of the city with brightly-lit signs and mildly-intoxicated citizens stumbling about.

"Yes. It's quite exciting!" DSR-50 said.

"I don't know if I'd put it that way," WA2000 replied as she noticed an obviously-drunk man leering at her.

"Oh, look at that," Kar98k suddenly interjected.

A skinny man in a dirty white tank top and shorts was sprinting through the crowd, carrying with him an AK-47 in one hand and a wallet in the other.

"Come back here, you grimy little fuck!" someone screamed after him, and to their surprise, the three T-dolls recognized the voice as their vice-commander's.

Ralph tore after the thief, pushing his way through the flow of people with his machete clenched in his fist. The thief briefly glanced back at Ralph, then aimed the AK-47 with one hand and fired in his direction.

"Holy fuck!" Ralph yelped as he dove onto the side of the streets. Many of the pedestrians followed suit, some of them yelling in anger and fear as well.

"Oh, my. It appears the Vice-Commander is having some issues," DSR-50 noted with amusement.

Kar98k smirked at the sight. "As entertaining as this is, I think we should help him. WA, you're the closest to the thief's path, so if you would, please."

"Me?!"

But before WA2000 could protest any further, the thief ran up close to the T-dolls, still pushing through the crowd. Groaning, WA2000 stepped into the busy street and put herself in the thief's way. The thief had momentarily looked back to see if Ralph was still chasing him so he didn't notice that WA2000 had inserted herself in front of him. The T-doll slung her rifle off her back. As soon as the thief turned his head back around, WA2000 smashed him in the face with the butt of her rifle, sending him to the ground and causing him to let go of the gun and the wallet. As the thief lay on the ground, dazed, WA2000 picked up the wallet and waited as Ralph ran up to the scene.

"I suppose this belongs to -"

Ralph ignored WA2000, instead letting out a guttural roar and jumping on the downed thief like some sort of deranged monkey. To WA2000's muted horror, he then began hacking away at the thief's face with his machete until there was nothing left of the man's head save for a series of red gashes. Dull white parts of the skull had also been exposed. The vice-commander stood up after finishing his grisly handiwork, only then noticing the stunned German.

"Oh, thanks," he said, taking the wallet from her hand, his face splattered with droplets of blood and his hands completely stained red. "I knew you girls had your uses!"

"Right…" WA2000 glanced back down at the mutilated corpse with a disturbed scowl. The rest of the people walking along the streets mostly just ignored the body, though a few of them did make noises of disgust as they passed by.

"Good stop, WA!" DSR-50 congratulated her, then frowned at the body. "How unpleasant…"

"Yeah, the people here are insane," Ralph said as he pocketed his wallet and picked up his gun, not really even understanding what she was referring to. "Can't believe I fell for the oldest trick in the book. That's the last time I let some bitch distract me while her man tries to rob me. In fact, I think I'm going to go back to that fine establishment and teach everyone there a lesson or two."

"Sir, perhaps you should -" Kar98k started, but once again, Ralph was already heading off without acknowledging her words. Sighing, the silver-haired German turned to her comrades. "We should follow him."

"No thanks. He's clearly insane," WA2000 crossed her arms.

Kar98k shrugged. "Stay here, then."

She and DSR-50 began trailing their vice-commander, leaving WA2000 alone with the body. Reluctantly, WA2000 ran after her sisters-in-arms and joined them as they walked with their vice-commander to wherever it was that he was going. They soon arrived at a small massage shop on the side of the road, and Ralph entered with his machete drawn. The three T-dolls glanced at each other worriedly before following him in.

A middle-aged woman began shouting at Ralph from behind the counter as he entered, but before she could say much, the vice-commander leapt over and embedded his machete in her skull. He then pulled it out and sheathed it, holding his AK-47 with two hands instead. Ralph went further into the shop, walking leisurely as if he were here for some pleasant business.

"Sir, should we really be causing a ruckus here?" Kar98k asked, hoping to stop the situation from escalating.

Ralph turned around and was about to answer, but then he heard footsteps come out of one of the rooms in the side of the hallway. A woman, who was leading a man by the hand, froze when she saw Ralph standing there with his weapon. She let out a brief shriek before Ralph opened fire, killing both of them in a smattering of bullets.

"Ah, that was the bitch," Ralph nodded to himself as he pointed the barrel of his gun at the corpse. "Might as well get rid of everyone else here too. Doubt there's anyone who deserves to live here anyway."

Kar98k opened her mouth to try and stop him again, but she was beaten to it by an unknown voice that came from the lobby of the shop.

"Hey, shithead!"

Raising an eyebrow, Ralph, along with the three T-dolls, turned back in the direction of the voice. The voice spoke in English and had an accent to it, but surprisingly, it did not sound like a Thai accent. Ralph strode back into the lobby and found himself face to face with a woman with long, silver hair and a rather beautiful face. She was strapped with all kinds of military equipment, and she carried with her a sleek black rifle. Though her eyes were closed, she seemed to be keenly aware of the presence of Ralph and his T-dolls.

"You talkin' to me?" Ralph said, an amused smirk on his face.

The woman returned his smirk with one of her own. "Well, you responded to it, didn't you?"

Ralph rolled his eyes. "So, can I help you? I'm in the middle of something here."

"I'd like to know why you're in here and causing a public disturbance," she said. "If I don't like your answer, I may just reply with a bullet."

"The fuck are you, some sort of security guard?" Ralph snorted. "They should hire you as one of the masseurs instead. You're way hotter than anyone else they have working here."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, my friend," she said with a smile. "Now, your answer?"

"Hey, I'm just paying them back for something," Ralph defended himself. "These guys tried to rip me off by stealing my wallet and my gun, so they're just getting what's coming to them. If you're going to stand in my way, then I'll just kill you too."

The woman slightly raised her gun, and almost unconsciously, the three Germans swung their own weapons off their backs and aimed them at the girl.

"Oh? I'm outnumbered," the silver-haired woman observed, though her eyes were still closed.

"Yeah, exactly," Ralph boasted, as if he had forgotten about the T-dolls' presence until now. "So just put your weapon down, and I promise you'll be treated gently. Well, as gentle as I can be, I guess."

However, another woman with light blonde hair and piercing blue eyes then stepped through the doorway and into the lobby, and like her companion, she also was decked out in military gear and had a weapon of her own.

The silver-haired one smirked at Ralph again. "I have friends too, you know."

"The fuck? It's still four against two, dumbass," Ralph spat. "I'll just kill you both. In fact, your cocky attitude is really pissing me off, so I actually _want_ to kill you now. The only way you're walking out of here alive is if you put down your weapons and suck my fucking cock, hah!"

The silver-haired woman's smirk remained. "Is that the only way? What if we told you that we are also G&K T-dolls?"

That caught Ralph off-guard. "... Huh?"

But he had to admit, it did make sense. The two girls were obviously foreign to this area, and not many beautiful women went around strapped with guns and grenades.

Ralph lowered his weapon. "Then what the fuck are you doing here?"

The silver-haired one frowned. "You are not aware that a Sangvis Ferri army is marching on this location?"

"'Course I'm fucking aware of that," Ralph said. "I meant how did you get here. These girls behind me are the only T-dolls we brought."

"We are advance scouts sent by the League army that is also due to arrive here," the silver-haired woman answered. "I am AK-12, and the one beside me is AN-94. We were sent ahead to assist your base with the initial defense since we knew you didn't have enough men to hold the city until the rest of the army got here."

"Is it true?" Ralph asked, turning to the Germans.

The three of them glanced at each other.

"We don't have any knowledge about that, sir," DSR-50 admitted.

"But can't you T-dolls detect each other or something?"

"Ah, right," AK-12 remembered. "Okay… Here. I've turned on my signature that allows us T-dolls to determine the location of other T-dolls up to a certain distance."

"... Yeah, she's a G&K T-doll," WA2000 confirmed after that.

"I see," Ralph nodded, then frowned and turned back to AK-12 and AN-94. "Then why the hell did you interrupt me here?"

AK-12 shrugged. "I was curious when I heard the noises, so I came to investigate. It was then that I noticed by your outfits that you were all part of the G&K force sent here, so I was just having some fun at that point."

Ralph shook his head in defeat as he removed the magazine from his rifle. "That's retarded, but okay. Who's your commanding officer, by the way?"

"We weren't sent here with one, so I suppose it would be the commander of your base," AK-12 answered a bit unsurely.

"Oh?" Ralph smirked. "Well, since the commander placed all our base's T-dolls under my command, I guess that makes me your leader for now. I'm Ralphie, the vice-commander of the base."

"Ah, so you were the vice-commander the whole time?" AK-12 said with a bit of surprise in her tone. She finally opened her eyes, revealing them to be a striking purple color.

"Yep," Ralph nodded, then glanced at AN-94. "Is your friend over there mute or something?"

"I am capable of speech, sir," AN-94 answered, frowning slightly.

"So you are," Ralph grinned. "Anyway, I'm getting the fuck out of here. These shits aren't worth my time after all."

The vice-commander walked out of the massage salon, once again lazily propping his gun up on his shoulder.

AK-12 turned to the other T-dolls. "... He is really the vice-commander?"

"Unfortunately," Kar98k answered as she and the rest of the Germans followed Ralph out. The two Russian assault rifles accompanied the group as well, having nowhere else to go in particular.

"I can't believe he just went in there and murdered three people," WA2000 said in a hushed tone to her companions. "Is this even allowed?! We're accomplices now!"

"Well… You heard the Vice-Commander. I doubt places like this have very good law enforcement anyway, so I wouldn't worry about that," DSR-50 assured her.

"But still, that was quite barbaric of him," Kar98k said. "Though Miss Kalina did tell us that he grew up fighting in Africa, so it really is no surprise. Perhaps this is normal for him."

"You three don't seem very fond of him," AK-12 noted with a friendly smile, as if the snipers hadn't just been pointing their rifles at her moments earlier.

"I think you can understand why," WA2000 scoffed. "But you're the one who actually tried to pick a fight with him, so…"

AK-12 laughed. "That? We were simply bored from sitting around and waiting, so I was just having fun."

"I warned her it was a bad idea," AN-94 said.

"But we didn't see you three go in, otherwise we wouldn't have been as hostile," AK-12 said to the Germans. "I suppose it would have been bad to start a gunfight with our comrades on the eve of battle."

"Your vice-commander…" AN-94 started, staring at Ralph's back. "He is quite different from the one this base used to have."

"Oh. Well, we wouldn't know since we just got here," WA2000 replied. "But when you say 'different,' I guarantee you actually mean 'worse.' Hard to believe the previous vice-commander could be any more of a scumbag than this guy."

"That is true," AK-12 nodded. "Though we only interacted with him for a short period of time, it seemed like the previous vice-commander was a man of integrity. A shame he was lost at Kunming."

The T-dolls continued following their commander, and they realized that he was heading back to the main G&K base in the city: Wat Arun. Wat Arun was a large temple on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, and the regal structure shone a gold color in the wake of the setting sun. G&K were not allowed in the temple by the monks living there, so they instead made their camp just outside it, which annoyed the monks anyway.

"Ah, this is quite the building," AK-12 commented as they approached. "Your camp is here?"

"Yes," Kar98k nodded. "Though I am not sure why we are coming back here since our commander ordered us to take defensive positions within the city…"

Ralph suddenly stopped and turned to look at them. "We came back because I need to get a look at some of the maps of the city we have stored here. We've got a battle to plan for, right?"

"But I thought we were planning on winging it," Kar98k brought up.

"Mm, yeah, but we'd probably end up dead that way," Ralph admitted with a sheepish grin. His expression then grew uncharacteristically serious. "And I won't die here. Not this far away… Anyway, that's why we're back at camp."

The T-dolls were taken slightly off-guard by Ralph's change in attitude, but they followed him inside the main G&K tent regardless. There, they found Kalina, who was also busy studying the large map of the city that had been pinned up on the far wall of the tent. There were a handful of armed G&K guards present as well, but aside from them, the tent seemed rather devoid of personnel. She turned as they entered, her expression one of surprise.

"Ralphie? You're all back here? And why're you covered in blood?"

"Yep. Is the Commander around?" Ralph asked, ignoring her last question.

"No, he's out in the city coordinating the defense," Kalina answered. "Isn't that where you should be too…?"

"I've come to formulate a battle plan since the Commander's is complete shit," Ralph told her, setting his gun down and taking a look at the map.

"R-really?" She then noticed AK-12 and AN-94. "Wait, who're they?"

"Oh, those two?" Ralph asked, briefly turning around to see what she was talking about. "They're T-doll reinforcements from the League Army. AN-ninety something and some sort of AK gun."

"I'm AK-12, and this is AN-94," AK-12 more properly introduced. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you! I'm Kalina, an officer here," Kalina smiled at them. "More reinforcements are good. We could definitely use them, that's for sure…"

A short silence then ensued as the group simply stood there, watching Ralph study the map. The vice-commander's brows furrowed in concentration as he chewed on some tobacco leaves and held his chin in his hand. He paused to spit a stream of red liquid onto the camp floor, much to the disgust of everyone around him.

"Yeah, I'm open to hearing suggestions," Ralph then said, sighing as he sat down at a nearby table. "Now that I think about it, this situation's fucked."

"U-um, shouldn't you be trying to keep morale up, sir?" Kalina hastily said, quickly glancing at the T-dolls.

"Fuck that. I could use a morale boost myself," he frowned as he stretched his arms. "And even that was fucking ruined by that shitty thief earlier today…"

The room devolved into another awkward silence.

"Fuck it, I'm gonna take a leak," Ralph decided with a grunt as he got up and marched out of the tent.

"So… No battle plan after all?" Kar98k asked no one in particular after Ralph had exited.

Kalina shook her head as she sat down at the table. "You know, Ralphie is actually pretty smart. I studied with him back at HQ when we were still in commander training, and he was always at the top of the class. Of course, he was on a tighter leash at HQ and so he couldn't get distracted, but still… Hopefully he'll think of something."

"I, for one, will not hold out hope," WA2000 declared. "He's been nothing but trouble so far. I'm sorry, but that's the truth."

"I have to admit, he doesn't seem like a traditional commander," AK-12 observed. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"That's right, you two don't know," Kalina realized. "Ralphie used to be a child soldier in the Congo. It may be why he is so… Strange."

"A child soldier?" AK-12 repeated, opening her eyes. "Interesting. Perhaps he is psychologically ill as a result?"

"Look, I don't care about that," WA2000 cut in. "So he was a child soldier, boohoo. That doesn't excuse the fact that if he doesn't lead us like a commander is supposed to, we're all going to die here!"

"Woah there, relax," Ralph said, suddenly stepping back into the tent and causing WA2000 to jump.

"Y-you heard all that?!" she stuttered.

Ralph smirked at her. "Yep, heh. You're an angry one, aren't you?"

WA2000 blushed, embarrassed at having been caught. "Me?! You're the one who murdered four people today because one of them robbed you!"

Ralph shrugged lightly at that. "At least I didn't screech like a little girl while I was doing it."

"I am not screeching!" WA2000 screeched.

"If I may interrupt, sir," Kar98k stepped in, "should we not go back to thinking up a battle plan?"

"Oh, right." Ralph walked up to the map. "Okay, so Sangvis Ferri is coming from the north, following the river down into the city. The Commander and his men I guess are setting up a defensive line around the river, probably centering around the Royal River Hotel over here. As for us, I think we'll position ourselves back in the Royal City Hotel since we have three snipers. From there we'll proceed to pick off Sangvis forces. When Commander Kinkaid is overrun, which he eventually will be, we'll retreat back to Wat Arun and continue sniping from there. When Sangvis Ferri gets too close, we blend back into the city and make our escape south, where we pray for exfil via the Gulf of Thailand. Hopefully Sangvis Ferri will be too busy dealing with the remnants of the League at that time, so they won't bother chasing after us."

The T-dolls thought over his plan for a bit before AK-12 spoke.

"I mean no offense, sir, but that plan doesn't sound very reliable, nor does it sound like we're even trying to win," she said with a frown.

"Then you're free to suggest a better one," Ralph countered. "Look… I'm a guerrilla warfare specialist. I know very little about grand strategy outside of what I learned at G&K HQ. My goal here is not to defeat Sangvis Ferri, but to deal as much damage as I can do them before retreating."

"So… The battle is lost, then?" Kar98k asked, not enthused by her vice-commander's words.

"I'm just one man, so don't expect me to win a battle that can't be won in the first place," Ralph shook his head. "Yeah, we lost this battle. Nothing I can do about it, sorry."

"Well, you may just be one man, but we're Tactical Dolls!" WA2000 shouted. "You can cower here and run, but we're more than just normal soldiers! We can fight!"

"There were Tactical Dolls at Kunming too, but that didn't save them," Ralph pointed out. "You girls may be supersoldiers, but you're not invincible. And I know because we were required to learn about T-dolls back at HQ. You going out there and trying to pitch in with the Commander's defense is suicidal."

WA2000 glared at him. "That's not for you to decide. I won't run."

Ralph laughed. "Actually, it _is_ for me to decide because the Commander put me in charge of you. And trust me, I'm not going to lose my own life or valuable assets like yourself in a futile fight like this one."

"It's not as if we're completely running away. We'll still get to fight," DSR-50 assured her angry comrade.

"Only fools blinded by delusion or drugs are eager to rush into a fight," Ralph said. "As bloodthirsty as I may seem, even I would much rather avoid battle if I can help it. Also, I've never fought against them myself, but I hear Sangvis Ferri mercs are brutes. Professional brutes, but still."

"They're not pleasant to fight against, I can tell you that," AK-12 said with a knowing smile. "But Vice-Commander, I thought you fought in Africa? I also heard that continent was pretty rough post-war."

"Yeah, I guess, but at least in Africa, the opposition force wasn't very well-armed or well-trained," Ralph admitted. "Sangvis Ferri, on the other hand…"

One of the guards who remained at base camp suddenly burst in through the main tent flap. "Sangvis troops have been spotted. The Commander is engaging the enemy!"

"That's our cue." Ralph picked up his AK-47 and started walking out. "Kalina, hold this place until I get back. Let's hope we all survive, haha!"


	3. Krung Thep III

_A/N: Forgot to address this in the last chapter, but someone brought up that the actual storyline of Girls' Frontline takes place in 2060, not 2024, which is true. Just to clarify what I said in Chapter One, some parts of this story (like the dates) will be AU, so expect there to be a decent amount of stuff that deviates from the actual lore. In spite of that, I will try to keep the characters as close to the originals as possible, so really the only things that will change are some of the background information about World War III and G &K and Sangvis Ferri and etc. The main reason why I've kept the dates in the near future rather than the far future is because I want to keep in modern weapons/weapons technology/culture/locations._

 _But yeah, aside from that, thank you to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited so far, and I'll get on with the story now._

* * *

 **07/07/2024**

 **1600 hours**

 **Bangkok, Thailand**

With a focused, intense look, WA2000 aimed down the sight of her rifle, scoping in on the area of the Chao Phraya River in front of the Royal River Hotel. She paused, slowing her breathing as she scanned the area, looking for any potential threats. Though most of the civilian population of Bangkok had boarded up inside their houses or apartments in anticipation of the firefight, the densely-packed nature of the buildings and streets of the city still made it hard to get a clear view. All was quiet inside of the hotel room she was positioned in, and the sliding door to the small balcony had been opened so she could aim out of it. Distant sounds of gunfire could be heard sporadically.

"See anything?"

WA2000 jumped and yelped as her vice-commander's voice sounded from right next to her ear.

"Woah, calm down," Ralph smirked.

"D-don't sneak up on me like that!" the T-Doll chided.

"So I see my skills haven't rusted after all," Ralph nodded to himself.

"You did it on purpose!?"

"Uh, yeah," he responded. "Anyway, back to what I asked. Anything visible from here?"

"... No. We're too far away. You should have picked a better location."

"Hm…" Ralph was also crouched down next to WA2000, his AK-47 in hand, though if the T-doll snipers couldn't see anything from here, he definitely couldn't. "Sangvis Ferri will get close enough in time. We just have to wait a bit."

"Well, while we're 'waiting,' the Commander's forces are busy fighting," WA2000 pointed out.

"Didn't know you were so worried about the Commander. I thought you all wouldn't like him."

"I don't like him, but he's still our commanding officer," WA2000 shot back. "And you're not too likeable yourself, sir. No offense."

"Oh, come now. Don't be so harsh," he laughed as he patted her head.

"What's wrong with you! I thought I told you not to touch me," she scowled as she slapped his hand away. "We're in the middle of a fight here!"

"But I thought you said you couldn't even see anybody."

"Y-yeah, but -"

"So you're not really fighting anyone right now, so it's okay, right?" he said as he patted her head again.

"I told you to stop!" she slapped his hand away again, glaring harshly at him.

"Oh? Am I interrupting?"

Ralph and WA2000 glanced towards the door to see AK-12, who had just entered. Her eyes were closed as usual, and she wore that same mysterious half-smile she always seemed to have.

"It's not what it looks or sounds like," Ralph assured her, standing up. "But what are you doing here? I thought I told you to guard the entrance at street level."

"AN-94 is still there, so I came up to check on the situation. Is that not allowed?"

"Well… I don't think you're supposed to just leave your post like that in the military," Ralph scratched his head. "But whatever, this isn't the military. There's nothing going on right now anyway, so you're free to be here as long as someone is stationed down there, I guess."

AK-12 nodded in acknowledgement. "I've checked the other two rooms with Kar98 and DSR, and they haven't seen anything yet either. It seems the enemy is still engaged with our forward forces."

Ralph yawned. "This is boring as shit, to be honest. I'm gonna go find something better to do until they get closer. You two are still on guard duty, though, so keep up the hard work!"

He then exited, leaving AK-12 and WA2000 by themselves.

"Ah… The Vice-Commander is quite a handful, isn't he?" AK-12 noted.

"Yeah, that's putting it lightly," WA2000 snorted as she went back to looking through her scope.

"So you don't like him," AK-12 stated as she took seat next to WA2000.

WA2000 took her eyes off her scope for a second to give AK-12 a questioning look. "Are you telling me you do?"

"Not necessarily… But if he proves to be a good commander, then I won't mind serving under him," the silver-haired T-doll said. "We are fighting a war. A likeable commander is a luxury."

"I guess…" WA2000 frowned. "But we're part of Grifon & Kryuger, one of the best PMCs in existence. Back at the Berlin base, there were plenty of good commanders, professional men and women who knew what they were doing. But now… It's just different here, and not in a good way."

"Hm… You have not fought in actual combat before now, have you?" AK-12 asked.

WA2000 flushed red. "N-no, but…"

"Calm down, I don't mean it as an insult," AK-12 said with an amused smile. "But you will get used to the rough parts of war soon enough. I myself haven't fought in too many battles either, but I learned quickly. It just happens that way."

WA2000 looked uncomfortable. "I'm not completely ignorant about the horrors of war, you know. It's just that if I focus on the bad parts of fighting, then… Then eventually I won't be able to function properly. Even Tactical Dolls have their limits."

"True enough," AK-12 agreed. "So you've heard of those cases too, huh? Of the T-dolls who suffered from PTSD and could no longer fight anymore? They couldn't even be put to civilian use, so in the end, they were just completely dismantled and used as scrap metal. I suppose you don't want to end up like them?"

WA2000 remained silent, continuing to stare down her scope.

"It's a reasonable fear," AK-12 continued. "But ultimately, you must confront it anyway. Some people can handle war, and others can't. And some of those who can't handle it turn themselves into the very monsters they fear… The Vice-Commander seems like one of those people, and it's why I can't dislike him completely. I do pity him."

"Then pity him all you want. I certainly won't," WA2000 insisted.

"Haha, I wasn't suggesting you do. That's your own choice." AK-12 stood up. "I should get back on guard duty. Best of luck, German."

* * *

"Holy fuck, it's been an hour. Can't the Commander and his men just die already?" Ralph groaned from where he lay on the hotel bed, his weapon lying haphazardly beside him.

"Sir, I would appreciate it if you could be quieter," Kar98k told him as she lay prone, her rifle aimed out the balcony and towards the area of the fighting.

"Why? It's not like you can even hit anything from this distance."

"Perhaps. But I would still prefer silence."

Ralph got up off the bed. His eye caught the remote lying on the dresser, and he pointed it at the television and pressed the 'ON' button, curious as to if it worked. Sure enough, the TV flickered to life, playing some sort of drama program on the screen.

"Huh, I guess hotels like this still have all the best amenities," he nodded with approval.

Kar98k turned around in annoyance now that the television had been turned on. "Sir…"

"You want to watch too?" Ralph asked, beckoning her over with the remote. "I can't really understand what they're saying, though."

The German sniper sighed, giving up as she got out of her prone position and sat up against the wall. "Should we really be sitting in a hotel room and watching television while our comrades are out there fighting?"

"Hey, I didn't expect them to last this long," Ralph said, now picking up one of the water bottles for purchase that the hotel put in every room. "Hm… I don't know how much this is in USD, but it doesn't seem cheap."

"Considering we barged in here and demanded use of their rooms at gunpoint, I don't think they will be too upset if we take their water bottles while we're at it," Kar98k pointed out.

"True," Ralph agreed, taking off the cap and downing the bottle in a few gulps.

Kar98k glanced back out the window. The sounds of gunfire and explosions had been going off for the past hour, but so far, she and the other T-Dolls had done nothing. They were supposed to be special assets that would turn the tide of the battle, but instead, they were sitting comfortably in a hotel, idling by. It was a frustrating feeling, but she couldn't do much about it. T-Dolls were programmed to follow the orders of their commanders, and since the base commander had turned over command of them to Ralph, she was forced to obey his orders.

The door to the hotel room opened, and to Kar98k's surprise, she saw all four of the other T-Dolls enter. WA2000 stood at the head of the group.

"Vice-Commander. Why are we still sitting here?" she asked, a stern expression on her face.

"What's this? A mutiny?" Ralph smirked at the group, who were supposed to be in their guard positions instead of here. "We can leave if you really want, but we'd just be retreating back to Wat Arun. I told you, it's suicide to go confront Sangvis Ferri directly."

"We're not saying we have to rush right into the middle of the firefight, but I don't think sitting in here is doing anyone any good either," DSR-50 said.

"Then what are we supposed to do? Head out there and just get crushed along with the rest of the Commander's forces?" Ralph countered, crossing his arms. "I'm the one in charge here, so if you -"

"Yeah, we get it. We have to follow your shitty orders," WA2000 cut him off angrily. "But that doesn't mean we can't try and convince you to change those orders. What sort of commander are you anyway? I don't know much about you, or why you're out here fighting, but you must have a reason, right? How pathetic are you that your main goal is just to avoid dying! You're not even trying to win! If all you can do is not die, then how are you ever supposed to accomplish anything! Forget about your reason for fighting, because a mediocre mindset like yours can never bring that reason to life!"

 _What a waste of breath,_ Kar98k thought. _Someone like the Vice-Commander's reason for fighting is probably for the money or just because he has nothing else in life. A sappy speech like that will never be able to reach him._

After WA2000's rant, the room fell into a tense silence for a few seconds. Ralph then broke it with a long, deep sigh.

"... Fine. We're going in, then."

Kar98k blinked. _It… Worked?_

Ralph picked up his AK-47. "The six of us alone can't do much, but like I said, I'm used to guerrilla fighting with small squads. Time to see if I've really still got it!"

"So, do you have a plan?" AK-12 asked, her tone tinged with excitement.

Ralph put his gun back down and pulled out a map of the city from his pocket that he had taken from base camp. He unfurled it and held it out so the T-Dolls could see.

"The Commander's forces are here," he started, pointing to the large hotel located on the edge of the river. He then moved his finger slightly north. "Over here, at this temple called… Wat Thepnaree, is where Sangvis' frontlines are. Sangvis Ferri knows that League reinforcements are also going to come from the west, so they'll have defenses set up there as well. This means that their forward operating base is likely stationed further north from Wat Thepnaree so that it's shielded from both the Commander's men as well as League forces. However, that also means that they won't expect an attack from even further north since G&K is attacking from the south and the League of Nations from the west. That's where we'll strike."

"We're attacking their base?" AN-94 asked for confirmation.

"Yes. But since Sangvis is currently fighting and didn't have time to set up fortifications like we did at Wat Arun, their base won't be so protected," Ralph said. "However, it's still going to house their HQ and possibly some commanders, so if we can get there and destroy them, then we can deal them a savage blow even if we don't exactly kill a lot of soldiers. This sort of operation is only possible for us because we have a small force, meaning we can quickly outflank them and remain undetected while doing so. Once we fuck up their forward operating base, Sangvis will be in disarray, especially if they divert some forces back up north to see what happened. When that happens, hopefully Commander Kinkaid and the League can capitalize and finish them off. Meanwhile, we'll slip back into the city like we were never there to begin with."

"Yes, I like it," AK-12 nodded. "Vice-Commander… If you were capable of thinking up this sort of plan, why didn't you just say this in the first place?"

"This plan is much more dangerous than my first one," Ralph warned. "Unlike G&K, who uses civilian Dolls as blueprints for their military ones, Sangvis Ferri makes actual dedicated military Dolls. One of the things we were taught during training at HQ is that Sangvis has two types of Dolls: regular soldiers, who are probably weaker than the average G&K T-Doll, and elites, who are sort of like commanders and are far stronger than the average G&K Doll. If we run into an elite at their base camp… It could be bad for us."

"Just leave that to us, sir. We won't disappoint you," DSR-50 assured him, tapping her rifle.

"Um, not that I'm complaining, but why the sudden change in plans?" Kar98k asked, still surprised that WA2000's words had actually had an effect.

"Hm… Well, I guess WA did have a point," Ralph admitted. "I still have dreams of my own, and so I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible and find the easiest way out so I could focus on what actually matters… But can I really accomplish what I need to if I can't even win in a situation like this? It's time to find out."

"Sir," WA2000 stood up straight. "As long as we're in this operation together, my weapon is yours. We _will_ be victorious!"

"Maybe you're being a bit too optimistic, but yeah, let's do this shit," Ralph nodded to her, smiling. "All right! Whoever gets the most kills wins! Let's head out!"

* * *

Ralph held up a fist, signalling the T-Dolls behind him to stop. The group pressed themselves against the wall of a building, watching as a tank, escorted by a squadron of soldiers, rolled past on the main street.

"It's League forces," Ralph noted. "I guess it doesn't matter if they see us, but I don't want to risk them accidentally shooting at us if we just appear suddenly. Plus, this is good stealth practice."

"And how are we doing so far? I've never tried this before," AK-12 said from her position directly behind Ralph.

"Eh… You girls aren't really very stealthy. Good thing we have the sound of gunfire and tanks to cover for that."

"Oh. That is unfortunate," AK-12 frowned, disappointed. "But you seem to move very silently, Vice-Commander. Even with my advanced hearing, I still can't pick up much from you."

Ralph smirked. "Yeah, this takes years of practice. But anyway, let's keep going."

The group crossed the street when all was clear, and they continued following the overhead highway to the north, stealthily darting through alleys and buildings. They mostly managed to avoid the main areas of fighting, and they occasionally ran into the stray civilian, though they were harmless enough. They came dangerously close to some Sangvis patrols, as signified by the mercenaries in red and black body armor, but since the patrols were more on the lookout for larger League forces, the six-membered squad was able to easily slip past.

"There it is," Ralph whispered as the group stopped a few meters away from the entrance to what appeared to be another temple.

Two white pillars with a sort of golden triangle atop them signified the entrance to the temple, and within the the temple compound itself were a series of hastily-erected tents. From this angle, Ralph could only see one mercenary guarding the tents, but he was sure that there were more. The skies were overcast above Bangkok, and it looked as if it may begin raining at any time.

"Fuck, I wish we had suppressed weapons," Ralph lamented. He glanced around, then noticed a small shop across the street from the entrance and with a good view into the temple compound. "Follow me."

He slowly led the group around to the back of the shop, then entered. It was more of a small street stall than an actual shop, so breaking in was easy and didn't require the smashing of anything. He crouched down behind the counter, and the T-dolls followed his lead. Slowly, he peeked his head over the counter and got a glimpse of six mercenaries. He quickly lowered his head before they saw him.

"You can see the enemy from here if you look over the counter. There's six of them," he said. "What we need to do is take out all the guards at more or less the same time, just to avoid one of them running off and warning the front lines. DSR, stay back here and wait for me to give the signal, which will be the sound of Kar's rifle firing. When I do, look over the counter and take out the second guy from the left."

" _Jawohl,"_ DSR-50 acknowledged.

Ralph gestured to the rest of the group to head back to their original position, which was behind a small building some distance away from the enemy camp.

"Okay, here's the rest of the plan," he began. "WA, stay back here and kill that one guy all the way on the left when I say so. It's the only target visible from this angle, but make sure he doesn't see you while you're waiting."

"Understood," WA2000 nodded.

"Rest of you, come with me," Ralph said, taking the remaining three T-Dolls around the other side of the building and moving so they were right up against the white wall of the temple compound. He slowly moved towards the entrance before stopping a few meters away from it.

"All right. There's three targets left and three of us. WA and DSR have the two on the left, so AK-12 and AN-94, you two get the center three. Kar will get the one on the right."

"What about you?" Kar98k asked. "And how are we going to attack? Just rush in?"

"No. Well, not all of us. You'll be shooting over this wall here."

Kar98k stared dumbly at the white wall that encircled the compound. "Um, sir, this wall is too tall to simply shoot over."

"Thank you, I'm aware of that," Ralph retorted sarcastically. "I'll hoist you up on my shoulders. As soon as I do, fire and kill the one on the right. That will be the signal for our other two snipers to also shoot. At that point, AK-12 and AN-94 will go in from the front entrance and kill the remaining three. Got it?"

The three T-Dolls nodded in confirmation, so Ralph decided to commence the operation.

"Here. Get on," he said to Kar98k, crouching.

"Um… Should I stand on your shoulders, or…"

"Fuck no, just sit down here and I'll hold your legs so you don't slip off. There's no way I'm letting you stand on my shoulders with those heels you've got on. Not only would that hurt like hell for me, but you also probably wouldn't have a stable aim."

"Right," Kar98k agreed, then slowly sat down on her vice-commander's stalwart shoulders, letting her legs dangle in front of his torso.

Ralph reached up to hold her thighs so that she didn't slip off as she readied her rifle. "All right, fire as soon as you get a good shot. Don't take more than a couple seconds or they'll see you."

The vice-commander stood up, his height combined with Kar98k's position on his shoulders allowing the T-Doll to see over the wall. A second later, her shot rang out, and then two more sniper shots followed immediately after. AK-12 and AN-94 rushed in at the same time, and a quick burst of bullets was heard before everything went quiet again.

Ralph crouched down to let Kar98k off his shoulders, then headed into the compound. AK-12 and AN-94 stood in front of the bodies of the three mercenaries they killed, and the other three had also been successfully downed by the snipers. Ralph turned around towards the entrance and gestured to DSR-50 and WA2000 to come into the compound as well.

"Unfortunately that was pretty loud, so we have to hurry," Ralph said. "We'll start by checking inside -"

His sentence was interrupted as a bearded man dressed in a black t-shirt and pants emerged from one of the tents, glancing around frantically with a pistol in hand. Ralph jumped a bit as the man came out from the tent right behind him, but he quickly reacted by pulling his machete off his belt and lodging it into the man's throat. As the mercenary went down, Ralph continued to hack at him with the machete, dousing himself in blood once more.

"... As I was saying, we need to check the tents," Ralph said between breaths after he finished. "Take anything of value you see, and destroy the rest. Kill everybody."

The T-Dolls carried out the orders, dispersing in pairs of two in order to search the tents. The two Russians went together, as did WA2000 and DSR-50, leaving Kar98k and Ralph as the final pair. They entered one of the tents and found that it contained numerous boxes, many of them full of bullets and magazines.

"How are we supposed to destroy this," Ralph wondered aloud. They could likely smash apart any communications equipment or important documents with their hands or guns, but an entire room full of ammo probably couldn't be disposed of without explosives.

"Perhaps we should leave it? I doubt we can destroy everything here in time," Kar98k suggested.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Let's check a different tent."

The two left that tent and headed back out into the temple compound, but they were now greeted by the sound of running footsteps and shouting.

Ralph hid behind one of the tents, and Kar98k followed suit.

"Sounds like only a few people, which means their frontlines haven't noticed us yet," Ralph whispered, clutching his weapon. "Let's ambush them when they come into view."

A few moments later, three Sangvis Ferri mercenaries sprinted into the area, their weapons ready.

"The fuck happened here?" one of them asked as he noticed the corpses on the ground.

Ralph was just about to reveal himself and spray them down, but before he could, a crashing noise sounded from inside one of the tents, surprising Ralph and causing the Sangvis mercenaries to whirl around and point their guns at the tent flap. A second later, AK-12 emerged from the tent, probably having destroyed something inside of it. However, she was evidently not expecting to come face to face with the enemy, and her violet eyes widened as she saw the situation she was in.

Before she could raise her weapon, the Sangvis Ferri mercenaries opened fire, knocking her to the ground. Ralph and Kar98k stepped out from behind their own tent at the same time, firing upon the mercenaries. Since they were currently engaged in shooting AK-12, the mercenaries were taken completely off-guard and were easily killed. Kar98k's bullet even ripped right through one of the mercenaries' helmets and burst his head open, spraying dark red blood and skull fragments into the air.

Once the mercenaries were dealt with, Ralph and Kar98k went over to AK-12, and the rest of the T-dolls came out of their own tents after hearing the noise. Ralph glanced at AK-12. The Sangvis mercs apparently had good aim, as AK-12 was bleeding from multiple wounds in her torso, the blood seeping through and staining her white top. AK-12 herself was still alive, and she moaned feebly as she groped for her gun that she dropped.

"AK-12…!" AN-94 crouched down next to her, her icy blue eyes widening in horror.

"Is she going to die?" Ralph asked as he watched AK-12's face contort in pain.

"You're the commander! Shouldn't you know!?" WA2000 yelled, also a bit shaken up by the sight.

"Uh, well, they did teach us that T-dolls can take more hits than regular humans, but that was quite the volley she absorbed," Ralph said. "Any of you got any medical training?"

The T-Dolls remained silent, which Ralph took as a collective 'no.'

Ralph sighed. "Then she's good as dead. Let's finish the rest of the mission and leave her here."

AN-94 suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Ralph by the collar. Her eyes were filled with fury, and a vicious snarl replaced her normally stoic expression. "We are not leaving her here!"

"Get the fuck off me," Ralph shoved her away. "The fuck are we supposed to do? We can't heal her here, and carrying her will slow us down and she's just going to die on the way back anyway. Don't be a little bitch about this."

"I'll carry her if I have to," Kar98k said. "I don't think we should leave her here either, sir."

"No, I will carry her," AN-94 insisted, dropping her gun momentarily to gingerly hoist AK-12 on her back. AK-12 moaned in agony and continued to whimper as she was slung over AN-94's back, the position uncomfortable for her injuries.

"Vice-Commander, we should send those two back to base. We can complete the mission without them," WA2000 said, not wanting to risk further injuring AK-12.

"She'll die. Do you you know how far Wat Arun is from here?" Ralph countered.

"I will find a League medic somewhere on the way back," AN-94 said.

Ralph shook his head. "That's ridiculous. Firstly, you'd need to get to the League positions on the frontline, which is incredibly dangerous if you're carrying an injured person. Then you'd need to get lucky and find a medic, and then you'd need to hope that he or she has the equipment and skills necessary to patch up a T-Doll. All this assuming AK-12 doesn't die on the way there since you'd still need to go pretty far even just to reach the League frontlines."

"I will risk it," AN-94 simply responded, turning to leave.

"Wait," Ralph stopped her. "If you want to save her, our best bet is actually to find someone here who can heal her. This is Sangvis base camp, so I am one-hundred percent sure they have someone who can repair T-Dolls, as well as the equipment required to do so. We just need to find that tent, which we can do by interrogating any soldier we run across here."

AN-94 paused briefly to consider that, then nodded.

"Then let's hurry," Ralph concluded, leading the group deeper into the camp. "Check all the tents here. Call us if you find someone we can interrogate."

The T-Dolls split off again, this time with everyone going their separate ways individually. Ralph stayed behind with AK-12 and AN-94, but they didn't have to wait long. Less than thirty seconds later, a half-naked man emerged from one of the tents, his hands in the air. A smiling DSR-50 came out after him, jabbing him in the back with the barrel of her gun to force him to walk towards Ralph.

"I found this man asleep in that tent," she said. "Should we ask him?"

"Yeah. Good work." Ralph pulled his machete off his belt, and the man's fearful eyes followed the weapon. "All right, tell us where the medical tent is or I'll cut your cock off. We need to heal this T-Doll."

The man gulped. "I d-don't -"

Ralph raised his machete as if he were about to strike the man, and the man immediately fell to his knees.

"All right, I'll tell you! It's over there!"

Ralph frowned. "That's not very descriptive. Get the fuck up and lead us there. And hurry up."

After calling WA2000 and Kar98k back, the group followed the frightened man towards one of the tents in the back. Luckily there were not any guards in this area, and the camp in general seemed to be fairly deserted. Once they reached the tent, WA2000 and Kar98k took the lead and opened the flap, their weapons raised in case of a trap. When the group entered, they saw a man and a woman in there, and they both jumped in shock at the unexpected visitors.

"Who -"

"Yeah, this looks like a medical tent," Ralph said, noting the operating table and various medical equipment scattered about. He turned back to the man and woman, who were dressed in military medic garb. "You two. This T-Doll needs to be repaired. Get on it."

"Y-you're not from Sangvis Ferri," the woman cautiously observed.

"Did I ask you to speak? Do as I order, or I'll make your deaths painful ones," Ralph threatened, growing more annoyed.

The man stepped up. "We won't just -"

Ralph turned to the Sangvis mercenary who led them here, unsheathed his machete, and proceeded to rain blow after blow onto the man, covering himself in blood for the second time today. After a particular hard strike to the back of the neck beheaded the mercenary, Ralph picked up the bloody, disembodied head and hurled it at the medical team. The man ducked out of the way in time to avoid it, but his defiant tone was now replaced by a look of pure horror.

"Hurry up. I want this done in under ten minutes," Ralph told them, his white shirt and combat vest drenched in blood.

AN-94 laid AK-12 down on the operating table, and the two medical corpsmen silently got to work. AK-12 looked to be in bad condition, as her face was pale and beads of sweat slowly trailed across her pained expression. AN-94 watched the proceedings with worry, gripping her weapon tightly. A sudden harsh pattering noise then began sounding from outside and on the roof of the tent.

"W-what is that?!" WA2000 asked with a start.

"Calm down. It's just rain," Ralph said, raising an eyebrow at her skittishness.

"It was cloudy earlier, but now it sounds like a torrential downpour…" Kar98k said, glancing up at the ceiling.

Ralph shrugged. "It's monsoon season, so rain comes suddenly and hard."

DSR-50 peeked out the tent flap and was greeted with the sight of almost a literal curtain of water falling from the skies. "Oh my… It certainly is coming down."

Ralph took a look outside as well, but then frowned. "Wait, is there someone out there?"

As if to answer his question, a bullet shot through the tent flap, barely missing Ralph and DSR-50 and exiting through the far wall of the tent, making the two Sangvis medics look up in surprise.

"What the fuck?" Ralph cursed.

"Stand back, Vice-Commander," DSR-50 cautioned as WA2000 parted the tent flap for her so she could aim outside.

A few more bullets came whizzing inside the tent, but nobody was hit by them. DSR-50 then returned fire after a moment of concentration, the loud bang of her rifle momentarily drowning out the sound of the rushing rain.

"Did you get him?" Ralph asked.

"I don't know… It's hard to aim in this rain."

A flurry of bullets then came bursting into the tent, causing Ralph and the T-Dolls to hit the ground.

"What the hell? How are they shooting so fast and from so many different directions!" Ralph shouted over the gunfire. "There must be at least three or four of them out there!"

AN-94 stepped forward. "If there are multiple targets, then that is my specialty. Leave this to me."

Ralph stared at her in disbelief. "Are you suicidal? Did you not see what happened to your buddy?!"

AN-94 ignored him and stepped outside of the tent anyway. Ralph and the other T-Dolls, still on the ground, waited on edge as they listened to the shots being fired outside. A few seconds later, a wet AN-94 barged back through the tent flap, crouching onto the ground and panting as she bled from multiple wounds. Ralph and the German snipers cautiously crawled over to her.

"T… There is only one enemy," AN-94 managed. "It is a Sangvis T-Doll by the name of Scarecrow, who we ran into at Kunming. She uses three pistols which she can levitate and control using magnetism…"

"Well… That explains why we thought there were multiple shooters," Ralph said. "Did you kill her?"

"No… She is still out there."

A few more shots were fired at the tent, punctuating AN-94's words.

"All right, she may have three guns, but there's still only one of her and five of us," Ralph concluded. "If we stay in here, she'll eventually hit us or just hurl a grenade in or something. We have to go out there and finish her."

"Okay… But she knows we're in here. She'll just fire as soon as we come out," WA2000 pointed out.

"Not if we go out at the same time," Ralph told her. "You, DSR, and Kar will go out first. Try to fire in her general direction at the very least. Since she only has three guns, she'll train one on each of you, leaving herself open to attack. That's when me and AN-94 will go in and punch her full of holes."

"That sounds risky for us…" Kar98k observed.

Ralph smirked at her. "What, you scared? You're T-Dolls, so you're more durable than I am. There's no other choice."

"As you say. We'll wait on your order, then," Kar98k conceded.

Ralph nodded, then looked at AN-94. "You ready?"

"Yes."

"All right. Move out!"

The Germans rushed out of the tent flap at the same time, and the gunfire started up once again. Ralph waited for a couple seconds before he and AN-94 also exited the tent. The moment he got out into the open, he was immediately splashed with the intense rain shower, cleansing his clothes of the blood and wetting his hair as if someone had poured a bucket full of water over his head.

 _Fuck, it really is hard to see in this,_ he thought as his hair got into his eyes. Nevertheless, he concentrated on where WA2000 next to him was aiming and he too started firing in that direction. Raising his AK-47 to almost eye level, Ralph rapidly tapped the trigger, expending all his bullets. However, as he moved to change the magazine, he paused to take a closer look and realized he had been firing at nothing.

"What the hell?! Where is she!?" he shouted over the rain.

None of the snipers answered him because they were now busy trying to avoid being shot by the levitating guns, which were evidently still around. However, the Germans had also realized that the main body wasn't in front of them, as they had stopped shooting back and were now just trying to outrun or throw off the aim of the pistols.

"If the handguns are still floating, that means the main body is still nearby!" AN-94 told Ralph, drawing close to him and speaking directly in his ear to be heard over the gunfire and rain.

Ralph's eyes darted around the area. He had been in situations like this before, moments in the jungle where he knew the enemy was nearby but not in sight. And most often, that meant that the enemy was trying a flanking maneuver…

The vice-commander whirled around, but before he could do much more than that, he was knocked to the ground by something, causing his gun to slip out of his grasp. A pale woman with dim yellow eyes and black hair tied in twintails came into view, and she grasped his neck with both her hands.

"Die…!" she rasped through the mask that covered the lower half of her face. "Die…!"

Having also been in _this_ situation before, Ralph didn't try to remove her hands from his neck and instead reached down to his belt, pulling his machete free. With all his strength, he smashed the blade's edge into the side of her neck, causing her grip to weaken. He tore free from her and lunged at her, his machete positioned to bury itself in her skull. However, Scarecrow managed to kick him away before he could reach her, and once again his back met the wet ground.

Fortunately, AN-94 stepped in and took a crouching stance in front of Ralph, her weapon raised. With deadly precision, she fired off a symphony of bullets at the Sangvis T-Doll, stopping Scarecrow dead in her tracks as the shots blew open her head. Scarecrow fell to the ground, dead. Her handguns also stopped moving, dropping uncerimoniously onto the mud and giving the German snipers the chance to catch their breath.

Ralph groaned and stood up, picking up his machete and AK-47. He didn't feel seriously injured, and aside from a sore solar plexus, he seemed to be fine. He walked over to the Sangvis corpse, which lay silently on the ground as rain pattered off it.

"Ah… She's dead," Kar98k noted. "That wasn't too bad."

"It _was_ five against one," DSR-50 said. "But still, I'm glad that's over…"

WA2000 limped towards them, her right leg bleeding from a gunshot wound. "Ugh… Stupid bitch."

"Target eliminated. Now let us go check on AK-12," AN-94 simply said, heading back towards the tent.

"Anyone else here injured besides WA?" Ralph asked.

The other two shook their heads, so Ralph turned back to WA2000. "You going to be all right with that wound?"

"Yeah… I'm fine. It's just a bit harder to walk," WA2000 answered, her frown tinged more with annoyance than pain.

 _Damn, I don't think I would even be able to walk at all if that happened to me_ , Ralph thought, glancing at her wound. _Well, whatever. They are T-dolls, after all._

After checking up on AK-12, Ralph left AN-94 and WA2000 with the medics in the tent as he and the remaining two T-dolls went to go out and destroy whatever other equipment or personnel they could find. They managed to locate the main Sangvis command tent, and due to the heavy rain, they were able to catch the tent's occupants off-guard. The tent was staffed by mercenaries, all of whom surrendered after Ralph and the T-dolls killed the entrance guards. They also captured the Sangvis mercenary operator for this sector, an angry-looking middle-aged man who glared at them when they took his weapons. Afterwards, however, Ralph realized he didn't have the means to transport all the prisoners, so he ordered everyone except for the mercenary leader killed and then made off with his lone captive. He returned back to the medic tent, the mercenary leader walking in front and at gunpoint.

"Who's that?" WA2000 questioned as they entered.

"It's the Sangvis operator head for this area," Ralph answered, poking the man in the back with his gun. "Apparently he and Scarecrow were in joint command of this operation, so it looks like we completed our objective."

The man scoffed at that. "Heh. If you think us two are anyone important, then you're -"

"Did I tell you to talk?" Ralph roughly shoved him to the ground, then kicked him in the ribs, causing the man to groan. "Don't worry, though. You'll get to talk all you want once I bring you back to base camp and then torture you for information."

"How is the operation going?" Kar98k asked AN-94.

"AK-12 should be fine now," AN-94 motioned towards the other silver-haired T-doll, who was sleeping much more calmly atop the table now. "She just needs some more rest. Mine and WA2000's wounds have also been dressed."

The male medic worked up the courage to speak again, addressing Ralph. "Y-you said you'd let us go if we helped them, s-so…"

"Huuuuh?" Ralph grinned wolfishly. "I don't remember ever saying that."

"B-but, b-b-but -"

"Ah, whatever. I guess I can let you two live," Ralph decided. "But if I ever see you again, I'm going to slit your throats. Everyone, let's go."

AN-94 picked up AK-12 bridal-style, and DSR-50 helped WA2000 walk along. Ralph and Kar98k led the group, both of them keeping an eye on the captive.

"So… Mission success, Vice-Commander?" Kar98k asked.

Ralph smiled a bit. "Yeah. Mission success."

 _One day… Now, one day for sure._


	4. The Cage I

**07/07/2024**

 **2200 hours**

 **Bangkok, Thailand**

Ralph sat on the steps leading to the main temple of Wat Arun, a bottle of beer in his hand as he stared out at the muddy river that ran through the city of Bangkok. His gun, never too far from his person, was propped up on the steps beside him, and as usual, his machete hung from his belt in its sheath. It was now nighttime, and the monks staffing the Wat Arun had lit up the lights on the temple, giving G&K's base camp an orange glow in the summer night. It had stopped raining a few hours ago, and all that remained of the torrential downpour was the wet ground and the extra rage the river seemed to carry.

"Ah, there you are."

Ralph glanced away from the river to locate the source of the voice, and he suppressed a scowl as he noticed that it was Commander Kinkaid. The commander had a bandage encircling his right shoulder, but other than that, he seemed as good as normal.

"Commander. Can I help you?"

"You never gave your report," Kinkaid stated.

"I had Kalina give it to the League commander since you weren't at base camp when I got back. He should have a copy for you," Ralph informed him.

Commander Kinkaid's face remained passive behind his mask. "You assumed I wouldn't be coming back at all, didn't you?"

Ralph took a swig of his beer. "And so what if I did?"

"Hmph. I suppose it doesn't matter," Kinkaid decided. "Either way, I am impressed that an African chimpanzee and a squad of robots were able to infiltrate Sangvis base camp and take out their leaders. As much as I dislike you, I must admit that your operation threw their forces into complete disarray."

"Indeed. I probably saved all your lives."

"Don't get full of yourself," Kinkaid warned. "Now that the League of Nations has entrenched their position here, Headquarters wants us to move our permanent regional base to Bangkok as well. Make sure you behave so that our company doesn't get a bad name."

With that, Commander Kinkaid walked off, leaving Ralph alone again. The vice-commander frowned, taking another sip of the beer. _How unpleasant… Can't I just enjoy my victory in peace?_

After the day's fighting, Ralph didn't have the energy to go back into the city and look for entertainment, and most of Bangkok's attractions were closed anyway due to the fighting. That meant that sitting back in Wat Arun and taking in the night sky and flowing river was the best post-battle celebration he could get, so he definitely didn't need Commander Kinkaid coming in and souring his mood. He sat in silence for a few more minutes before he noticed a group of people approaching. They were Kalina and the T-Dolls, and surprisingly enough, both AK-12 and WA2000 were also in attendance.

Ralph raised his bottle in greeting. "Good evening."

"Ralphie! Why'd you leave all the administrative work to me again?" Kalina complained.

"That's 'Vice-Commander' to you. And I did all the actual hard work, so it's about time you pulled your weight."

Kalina stared at him blankly. "Oh, really? From what I was told, it seems like you had your ass saved by the T-Dolls, sir."

Ralph chuckled. "So is that what you girls told her?"

"We just told her the truth," WA2000 insisted. "You have to admit that we helped."

"I guess. How's the leg?"

"Oh, uh, it's fine now," WA2000 answered. "The medics here at base camp did a better job than those Sangvis ones, and T-Dolls heal quickly, so…"

"That's good." Ralph then looked at AK-12. "And even AK-12 seems fine despite being shot multiple times."

"Ah, yes, I am doing all right now. The League medics are highly trained," AK-12 said. "But I must apologize for being taken out so early in the operation… It was silly of me to not pay attention to my surroundings."

"Hey, everyone gets unlucky sometimes," Ralph said. _So she was in too much pain to remember that I suggested leaving her behind? Convenient for me._

"How can you talk so casually to him?" WA2000 asked AK-12. "You know he threatened to just leave you there to die, right?"

Ralph shot WA2000 a look of disbelief. _Why the fuck would you mention that?!_

AK-12 wore a small smile. "That? I can't hold it against him. This is war, after all. Besides, he did help me survive in the end, so I think it's fine."

"Thank you. At least someone is sensible," Ralph said before glaring at WA2000.

"I think it was deplorable to even suggest leaving her behind," AN-94 interjected with a frown.

"Not you too!" Ralph stood up and slung an arm around AN-94's shoulders, much to her displeasure. "You all need to lighten up. Be glad you stayed alive through today."

"The enemy forces actually seemed surprisingly weak, apart from Scarecrow," Kar98k noted. "We weren't exactly very stealthy when we infiltrated their camp, and yet we managed to basically overcome all their defenses."

"That's actually due to the fact that the League of Nations sent more reinforcements than we thought they would," Kalina explained. "Russia sent some battalions in addition to the remnants of the Kunming army, so Sangvis Ferri had to divert a lot of manpower to fend them off."

"Russians? So did you two know about that?" Ralph asked, turning to AN-94 and AK-12.

"We were sent to Kunming from Grifon and Kryuger's Irkutsk base, so no, we were not told about the movements of the Russian government," AN-94 answered, finally breaking free of Ralph's grasp.

"Yeah, it seems they mobilized at the last minute," Kalina said. "Anyway, those reinforcements combined with your operation really helped us out. I'll admit, I didn't think we could really win after hearing your first plan…"

"Yeah, yeah," Ralph waved her off. "Anyway, what are you all doing here? Were you looking for me?"

"No, the T-Dolls just wanted to see the inside of the temple," Kalina told him. "It's not like there's much else to do around base, so I thought I'd bring them here."

Ralph scoffed at that. "You're seriously going to celebrate our victory by visiting a temple? How about we hang out in my room instead. I'll provide the refreshments."

The vice-commander held up his bottle again, waving it tantalizingly.

"Um, I think I'll pass…" Kalina said.

"I wasn't talking to you, obviously," Ralph replied, staring at her flatly.

"If you are suggesting what I think you are suggesting, then I will also have to decline," AK-12 chimed in. "I don't think my body is healed enough for that."

"Fine, you can sit out due to injury, but the rest of you have no excuse," Ralph decided. "Well? Don't tell me you're actually content with just sitting out here and doing nothing."

WA2000 had enough. "Just shut up already, sir! Do you have to be so crude all the time?!"

"Damn, calm down," Ralph smirked. "You sure you're going to pass, then? You look like you need to work off a lot of stress."

"Vice-Commander, please stop harassing them," Kalina sighed. "You know we're not supposed to do that stuff with the T-Dolls."

Ralph shrugged. "Not like I'm going to get caught."

Kalina didn't bother responding to that. "Come on, girls. Let's just go inside. The Vice-Commander can sit out here and drink alone."

The T-Dolls and Kalina walked up the stairs, leaving Ralph by himself once again. The tangerine-haired man sighed softly as he drained the rest of his beer, then leaned over the staircase and stared out at the river. The lit-up night skyline of the city of Bangkok was right in front of him, but for some reason, he thought it looked really lifeless.

 _These lights and the lights I see in my dreams… They're completely different._

He had long wondered why what was. Though he had been to many different cities in his life, for some reason, that city from long ago remained stuck in his mind. Whenever he thought of it, a comforting feeling would overcome him, a feeling that he almost never felt in real life. If he could just get back to that city, Las Vegas, maybe he could finally understand why he kept thinking about it…

Ralph yawned, then stood up and stretched before heading down the stairs and back into the main base camp. He tossed the beer bottle into a nearby trash bin, then continued making his way towards the main command tent that the League commander, General Zhang, had set up in the compound. Now that the battle was over, he figured he might as well try and see if he could get some more information about the missing T-Dolls. After all, AR-15 had wanted him to dig up their whereabouts, so he hoped the League of Nations would be able to point him in the right direction.

When he entered the tent, he found that it was bustling with activity. Unlike Ralph himself, General Zhang was heavily involved in the administrative duties of command, and he was responsible for fortifying the city and establishing a permanent League and G&K base in Bangkok. He was also supposed to help with the repairs of the parts of the city that had been damaged by the fighting, so he was undoubtedly starting plans on that as well. Nevertheless, the middle-aged Chinese man looked up when Ralph approached, momentarily pausing his duties.

"Vice-Commander. Was there something else you needed?" Zhang asked in slightly-accented English.

"There is. What do you know about the Griffon T-Dolls that fought at Kunming?" Ralph questioned.

Zhang raised an eyebrow. "The AR Squad? It's best that your company forgets about recovering them. They were not in the Sangvis Ferri camp, and none of the mercenaries we interrogated had any information on them. Even the mercenary commander did not seem to know. It is probable that they are dead at this point. Perhaps they were lost in the wilderness, or killed by a stray band of rogues or raiders."

To be completely honest, Ralph was fine with leaving it at that, but he doubted AR-15 would be. "Is that all you know? That doesn't tell me much."

Zhang frowned at him. "That is your problem, not mine. I can only tell you what the enemy commander told me."

"Then can I at least interrogate him myself?"

"... No."

"Why not? I was the one who captured him."

"I do not know how to put this, but to speak plainly, I have heard tales of your barbarism," Zhang said. "We need him alive, so if you go in and torture him or kill him, it may be bad for us in the long run."

"I promise I won't kill him," Ralph smirked, raising his right hand as if he were taking an oath.

"We cannot take that risk, Vice-Commander," Zhang stood firm. "But your desire to interrogate him is pointless, as we have already done that. He said that if anyone were to know about such things, it would be the Sangvis Tactical Doll that you killed, not him."

"Fine," Ralph conceded. "But I still want to know what happened to the former vice-commander and the T-dolls, and the specific circumstances surrounding their disappearance."

"I am afraid we do not know that either," General Zhang shook his head. "In the chaos of the battle, our troops were too busy retreating to take stock of the whereabouts of your Grifon commander. However, that does mean at the very least that he and the Dolls were not in formation and had gone out in a different direction."

"And why would they do that?" Ralph pressed.

"How should I know? Do I look like a mind reader to you?" Zhang replied sharply. "There are many reasons why a unit can get separated in battle. Most likely it was due to poor communication between the lines. Anyway, that is all I can offer you. But before you go, one more thing: about the T-Doll leader you killed… What did you do with her corpse?"

Ralph thought about it for a second. "I'm pretty sure I just left it lying there in the mud."

"I see. Well, it was no longer there when our troops arrived."

"Huh. Maybe the medics I left alive threw it into the river or something to protect Sangvis technology secrets," Ralph posited.

Zhang nodded. "That sounds plausible. Anyway, thank you again for your assistance, but I must get back to work now."

Ralph strode out of the tent, barely any more knowledgeable than he was when he first walked in. _AR-15 isn't going to be happy about this… Whatever._

He had done the most he could, and it wasn't his fault that the Sangvis commander had no information… Though it _was_ his fault that the other Sangvis commander who did have the information was dead. Either way, nothing could be done about that now. AR-15 would just have to come to terms with the fact that her comrades were gone forever.

"Ayy, it's the Cannibal Commander!"

Ralph glanced over to see a group of G&K mercenaries grinning at him. He recognized the three of them as being from his base, and judging by the way they were acting, they were clearly drunk.

"Find any tasty corpses tonight?" one of them asked as the others cracked up around him.

"Not yet, but I think I'll turn you into one," Ralph shot back.

"Oho? Come at me then, Mr. Cannibal!" the merc said, swaying as he held up his fists in a mock boxing stance.

Ralph, already in a sour mood, finally snapped at the provocations. In a flash, he dropped his gun and unsheathed his machete. With practice quickness, he leapt at the mercenary and slashed his throat open. The other two hooted with surprise and shock, but before their inebriated bodies could properly react, Ralph had already buried his machete in the second one's skull, pulled it free, and slashed at the third one. The third mercenary managed to step out of the way in time to avoid having his neck nearly torn off, but Ralph's blade still nicked an artery, and blood came pouring out at a rapid pace as the man limped away. He would probably be dead soon.

Snorting to himself at the ill-fated mercenaries, Ralph sheathed his machete again and walked off towards the temple, even as shouts of alarm came from behind him. League personnel couldn't really get Ralph in trouble since the altercation only involved G&K employees, and Ralph doubted that Commander Kinkaid would care that he had killed a few degenerates. That, combined with the added fact that Ralph had been a vital part in today's victory, basically gave him immunity, which meant that those mercenaries were incredibly stupid to have picked a fight with him.

Sure enough, nobody bothered to follow Ralph as he headed back to Wat Arun, and once he arrived there, he took up his position at the stairs again, simply staring out at the river and the city lights beyond.

* * *

 **07/09/2024**

 **1300 hours**

 **Bangkok, Thailand**

Ralph sat at one of the open air tables on a street in Bangkok, right by the main road. Life in the city had gone back to normal, and crowds of people and the occasional vehicle or rickshaw passed through the busy streets. A cup of tea rested on the table in front of him, and he himself was busying himself by flipping through a local newspaper, though he couldn't actually read the language it was printed in. After a few minutes, he looked up when he noticed someone approaching.

ST AR-15 sat down across from him, silently pulling out the chair and fixing him with a stare from her blue eyes. Her assault rifle was on her back as usual, and since there were plenty of soldiers and mercenaries still milling about the city, her weapon didn't make her look out of place.

"You're a bit late," Ralph noted, glancing up from his paper.

"Do you have anything for me?" AR-15 said, cutting to the heart of the matter.

"I should be asking you that," Ralph countered.

AR-15 wore an uncomfortable look. "There was nothing of any substance in the region. None of the Thai government officials knew anything."

"Well, then that doesn't help me much, does it?" Ralph frowned, taking a sip of tea. "... You know what our deal was."

AR-15 grimaced. "Look, I'll… I'll find something soon. I'm planning on going back to Grifon HQ soon, so -"

"I'll be going there too," Ralph cut her off. "My commander and I were actually just reassigned there since the League is handling things here. So I don't really need you to gather information if you're going to the same place I am, right?"

"You think you can do better than I can? Good luck, then," AR-15 spat. "You still need me. You'll never get into America by yourself."

"At this rate, you're no help," Ralph dismissed. "Give me something of substance, or our deal is over."

AR-15 grew angry. "Then why did you even call me here in the first place?"

"Because I thought you had information for me. If I knew you had just been sitting around doing jack shit for the past few weeks, I wouldn't have bothered. And why didn't you tell me that you had nothing over the phone?"

AR-15 didn't answer, and instead just looked down at the ground.

"So you came because you wanted information from me despite you having nothing to give in return?" Ralph summed up. "That's pathetic. What do you think I am?"

"Just… Just tell me what you know," AR-15 said softly.

"Yeah, right. Suck my fucking dick."

AR-15 lunged across the table and grabbed Ralph's collar before he could react, knocking over his teacup in the process. The sudden motion and noise caused the other patrons to look over in alarm, some of them muttering among themselves at the sight.

"Let go, you bitch," Ralph grated through clenched teeth, his hand reaching for his machete.

To his surprise, AR-15 actually did let go of him. The T-Doll put her hands on the table, her bangs covering her eyes.

"Please… They're all I have…"

Ralph regarded her with a strange look. He had always known that AR-15 was a melancholy and serious girl, but she really seemed desperate to know about the fate of her comrades even though she had been much more collected back at their prior meeting. Realizing that a cornered animal could be dangerous, Ralph decided to just tell her.

"They're probably dead. General Zhang of the League Army said that the Sangvis commander didn't know about them, and that there were no captured documents suggesting what happened to them either. He also said that they did not participate in the League retreat at Kunming and instead went off in a different direction, which means they're probably dead. Nobody survives out in the wilderness in this day and age."

"... So their bodies weren't recovered?" AR-15 said, looking up at Ralph. "Then they could still be alive. I'm going to look for them."

Ralph raised an eyebrow. "The fuck? Did you not hear what I just said? You won't find them. And what about your dumb vengeance quest?"

"That can wait," she hastily replied. "This is more urgent at the moment. I guess I'll start from Kunming and -"

"You've lost it," Ralph frowned. "What is wrong with you? Just forget about them."

"I can't!" she shouted in his face, emotion filling her eyes. "I just can't… After what happened, they were the ones who were there for me… Like I said, they're all I have left…"

"Well… You still have me," Ralph joked.

Judging by the look in AR-15's eyes, she didn't find it funny. "I'm going to look for them whether they're dead or alive. Your help would be appreciated, but if you're not going to bother, then I understand. Goodbye, Ralph."

The T-Doll got up and began walking away. Ralph sighed in frustration. Normally he would be glad to leave her to her fate, but since she was his best chance of getting back into America, he needed her alive and mentally sound.

"I'll help you, I guess," he said, standing up as well. "It's going to cost you, though."

She turned around. "Cost me what…?"

"After we find them, dead or alive, you will focus all your efforts on helping me get into America," Ralph laid out his terms. "From that point on, you will work for me and me alone until that goal is accomplished. Only afterwards will I help you with your other quest."

AR-15 looked less than enthused at the proposal, but she accepted nonetheless. "Fine. Then I also expect you to put all your effort into finding the rest of the AR Team."

"Then we have ourselves another deal," Ralph grinned. "Oh, and it's probably best that you let me be in charge. It'll be easier to find them that way."

"How?" AR-15 asked, skeptical.

"Well, to start with, we're not going to rush straight to Kunming," he began. "We'll first head to G&K HQ as planned, see what we can find out there, and then plan out our next moves."

"But -"

"No complaints. You'll do as ordered, or you won't do at all," Ralph insisted. "The two of us alone can't accomplish this. We'll need the help of whoever else we can get, including more T-Dolls. I have a feeling this isn't going to be easy."

AR-15 nodded, albeit a bit reluctantly. "Fine, then. What do you want me to do first?"

"Nothing. We'll just wait here until the plane to take us to Russia arrives, and that's when we'll truly begin the operation."

* * *

 **07/17/2024**

 **2200 hours**

 **G &K HQ, Moscow, Russia**

Six T-Dolls, Ralph, and Kalina stood in the spacious lobby, waiting around for their next orders. Ralph, wearing his standard white shirt and black slacks, stood with his hands in his pockets, a casual air about him despite being in the G&K HQ building.

"Um… Are you sure we should have brought them?" Kalina said quietly to Ralph, shooting a sidelong glance at the T-Dolls.

"Huh? Yeah. I told you already that it's no big deal," Ralph assured her.

"But… Only you, me, and the Commander were reassigned here. They didn't say anything about the T-Dolls…"

"Exactly, which means there were no express orders to have them remain in Bangkok," Ralph pointed out.

"I don't think that's how it works, but whatever you say," Kalina sighed. "And you still never told me what AR-15 is doing with us."

"You'll know in due time," Ralph replied.

The clack of high heels on the tiled floor alerted the group to an approaching figure. She was a tall woman with black hair and piercing red eyes, though a monocle covered her right one. She wore a red military uniform along with a serious expression, but her face betrayed a hint of surprise when she saw Ralph and the T-Dolls.

Kalina and the T-Dolls immediately stood up straight when Helianthus walked over, but Ralph remained as cavalier as ever.

"Ralphie, Kalina. Good to see you two made it back safely," she greeted, then glanced back at the T-Dolls. "And what exactly are all of them doing here? I don't recall ever reassigning them."

"Them? I kind of need them for something," Ralph said.

Helian glared at him. "For what, exactly? What reason could you possibly have had to bring all of them out of Bangkok and back with you to Headquarters?"

"Right… About that," Ralph's turquoise eyes glinted. "I want to be put on the search squad for the missing AR Team, and so do these T-Dolls."

All the T-Dolls save for AR-15 wore quizzical looks, not knowing what the hell their commander was talking about.

"Excuse me? There is no 'search squad' for the AR Team," Helian told him, cautiously eyeing AR-15 as well.

"So G&K is just abandoning them to die?" Ralph pressed.

"No, but we don't have the luxury of diverting resources to a search with no trail whatsoever," Helian shot back. "And since when have you of all people cared so much about looking for missing comrades?"

"But the AR Team is the strongest T-Doll squad that G&K has," Ralph said, ignoring her question. "Surely it wouldn't be a waste of time to go looking for them? I mean, I guess we could rebuild them from scratch, but that would be insanely expensive and the new Dolls would lack the combat experience that the old ones have."

"Look, I can't make that decision," Helian bluntly rejected him. "And I don't know why you're suddenly so obsessed with this. It's almost as if you enjoy pursuing futile endeavors."

"Futile? I don't think so."

Helian sighed. "Is this in some way related to your impossible desire to infiltrate America? Because if so, I already told you that -"

"'Impossible'?" Ralph repeated with a deep scowl.

Helian closed her eyes and took a breath. "... You know what, we'll finish this later. I'm very busy right now, so I just came to tell you to go back to your quarters and await further orders. It's the same rooms you used to stay in, so you know where they are. As for the T-Dolls, we weren't expecting them, so keep them with you for now. I'll see you later, then."

"She looked kinda angry…" Kalina noted nervously once Helian had walked off.

"Eh, she's always angry," Ralph said. "And I'd bet she'd be even angrier if we both weren't adopted children of top G&K donors. I'd hate to be a regular footsoldier on the receiving end of one of her lectures."

"I doubt she takes the time to give them lectures. She'd probably just order them sent to solitary confinement or something if they pissed her off," Kalina said with a cheeky smirk.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but who was that woman? She looked important," Kar98k spoke up.

"That was Helianthus, or Helian for short," Ralph answered. "She's a pretty high-ranking figure in G&K, in part due to her shrewd intellect and also because she's the daughter of Mr. Asterid, a really rich guy who's one of G&K's main financial backers."

"She's that important? Then why the hell were you talking to her so casually!" WA2000 yelled in disbelief.

"Well, since Mr. Asterid also happens to be the man who became my guardian after G&K took me from Africa, I guess that makes her my adopted sister," Ralph answered. "I've known her for eight years now, since before she was a big shot here."

"Yeah… I think the only reason we were able to get away with bringing you girls here is because of that," Kalina chuckled.

"We're going to have our work cut out for us regardless," Ralph sighed, folding his hands behind his head. "I doubt even I can convince Helian to let us go off on our own and look for the AR Team."

"About that, sir," DSR-50 cut in, "this is the first we're hearing of this. Why are we suddenly going looking for them?"

Ralph glanced pointedly at AR-15. "Because our friend over there wants us to."

The other T-Dolls began staring at AR-15 as well, making the assault rifle-type Doll shift uncomfortably.

"Not to be rude, but… Why exactly are we listening to her? Just because she wants us to look for them doesn't mean we have to do anything," WA2000 said.

"Yeah, normally I wouldn't give a fuck about this, but I kind of need her for something, and if we don't go with her on her stupid-ass search, she's going to go off on her own and get herself killed," Ralph explained.

"That doesn't really explain why we five specifically are going, though, especially since we were never formally reassigned," Kar98k clarified, referring to the German snipers and the Russians. "This sounds like a problem between the two of you, Vice-Commander."

"Actually, it's just 'Commander' from now on," Ralph corrected with his usual smirk. "Now that Commander Kinkaid has also been reassigned,, that puts the five of you under my direct command. And my first order is to go find the AR Team, so that's why you five are here."

The five T-Dolls in question looked at each other unsurely.

"Um… Are we allowed to just change our chain of command like that?" WA2000 questioned, clearly skeptical of the whole thing.

"Of course," Ralph answered with a triumphant grin. "I can just have someone here at HQ manually overwrite your command protocols, but since you've all already taken orders from me before, I don't think that will be necessary… Unless anyone has a complaint…?"

None of the T-Dolls said anything, so Ralph nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Then from now on, this is our new echelon."

"Uh, Ralphie, how do you know Helian or someone else here who outranks us isn't just going to take the Dolls away and reassign them?" Kalina asked, clearly not too enthused by this side project either.

"Yeah… That's why I said we need to try and convince Helian first," Ralph frowned. "I guess I can't really stop them from doing that, but let's hope that doesn't happen."

"This feels sort of wrong," WA2000 said sourly, still unconvinced.

"Get that stick out of your ass. This will be a good experience for you," Ralph assured her. "Better than hanging around in Bangkok, that's for sure."

"So then, where do we start?" AR-15 spoke up for the first time.

"Right…" Ralph had almost forgotten about that. "I've got no clue. If anyone has suggestions, say them now."

As expected, he was only met with silence.

AR-15 grew impatient. "This is ridiculous. While we're back at HQ wasting time, M4 and the others could be -"

"Woah, calm down," Ralph stopped her. "Show a bit of class. These five other T-Dolls have all gathered here to help you out, and you're just popping off like some sort of spoiled brat."

AR-15 clenched her fists. "That's only because you forced them!"

"And you basically forced me to come along with you," Ralph replied nonchalantly. "The circumstances don't matter. If you need our help, you shouldn't be complaining about the way we go about things."

That only made AR-15 angrier. "Fuck you. I shouldn't have asked you in the first place."

She then turned to leave, but she was stopped by AK-12, who put a hand on her shoulder.

"Settle down, comrade," AK-12 wore an amused smile. "We will find them, don't worry. I was at that battle as well, so I am interested in what happened to them too."

Luckily, that seemed to calm AR-15 a bit, and the American T-Doll returned to her normal, broody self.

"Right then, if everyone's done throwing their tantrums now, I think we should head back to our rooms," Ralph decided. "We can't plan this operation without food and rest first."

No one argued against that, so they followed Ralph as he walked through the enormous facility and headed towards the living quarters, climbing up a few flights of stairs to get there.

"Ugh, I'm so glad to be back here after living in that filthy base for so long," Kalina said.

"Yeah, that place was a shithole," Ralph agreed with a grin.

Ralph stopped at a door in one of the hallways. "Well, this is my stop. See ya."

"W-wait, where are we supposed to go?" WA2000 asked.

"Don't ask me. Go stay with Kalina," Ralph shrugged.

"I can't keep all six of them in my room!" the redhead protested.

"Fine, whatever. Three of you come with me, then."

"We're supposed to share a room with you?" AR-15 raised an eyebrow.

"HQ doesn't have living quarters available for you yet, so yeah," Ralph simply responded. "Or you could always find your own living arrangements somewhere out in the city."

"We don't get paid enough for that…" Kar98k sadly noted.

"Then sucks for you," Ralph held his door open.

Reluctantly, AR-15 and the two Russians entered, leaving the Germans with Kalina.

"This place kind of looks like the hotel room back in Bangkok," AK-12 observed, opening her violet eyes.

"G&K probably based the design off a standard hotel room," Ralph said. "It's a bit smaller, but it's got everything I need, so I'm not complaining."

The room was stocked with a television, a bed that looked much better than the cots back at the Thailand base, a small private bathroom, a nightstand, a couch, a dresser, and a window with a view out onto Moscow. A few of Ralph's personal belongings were also strewn about, including a laptop on the nightstand and a jacket that was draped over the sofa.

"Where are we supposed to sleep?" AN-94 asked, eyeing the lone bed in the room.

"Again, don't ask me," Ralph replied. "I'm taking the bed, so unless you want to sleep with me - which I have no problems with, by the way - you get the floor."

"What a gentleman," AR-15 sarcastically spat.

Ralph smirked. "Come on, you've known me long enough to realize that by now. If we sleep close together, I'm sure there's room for all three of you…"

"I think I'll pass," AR-15 decided. "I'll just sleep on the couch."

"I'm fine with sharing the bed," AK-12 said with a grin.

"As long as you keep your hands to yourself, sir," AN-94 added firmly.

Ralph sighed, but acquiesced nonetheless. "Well, since we _are_ at HQ right now, I think I'd get in massive trouble if I tried anything, so sure."

The commander then went into the bathroom to prepare for bed after grabbing a pair of pajamas from his dresser. When he re-entered the room, he saw AR-15 already asleep on the couch and AK-12 and AN-94 sitting on the bed.

"You're going to sleep in those uniforms?" he asked, confused.

"It's not as if we have anything else to wear," AK-12 pointed out.

"I mean… You could just take those off…"

"I think we will be fine in these, Commander," AN-94 immediately rejected the idea.

"Suit yourself, then," Ralph smirked. "But actually, I do have some spare shirts and pants if you want them. Probably more comfortable than sleeping in your combat uniforms."

The T-Dolls looked hesitant, but they then accepted his offer, deciding that he may well be right. Ralph loaned them each a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and after changing in the bathroom, they came out with apprehensive looks.

"This is a bit large, isn't it?" AK-12 said, tugging on the collar of her shirt.

"I don't have clothing for women lying around here, so that's the best you'll get," Ralph replied.

"T-Dolls are designed to be able to sleep in their uniforms… This certainly feels strange," AN-94 added, glancing down at her shorts which were much longer and looser than her usual ones.

"Just change back if you don't like it," Ralph simply told them as he lay down under the covers. "And turn those lights off when you're done. I'm tired as fuck."

Ralph closed his eyes, and a few moments later, the lights in the room were shut off and he felt two weights press down on the bed on either side of him. He had strategically chosen the middle of the bed to lie down because that way he could be close to both of them, but they seemed to be on the very edge of the bed in order to avoid him as much as possible.

He smirked to himself again. _Can't blame them. Can't blame them at all…_


	5. The Cage II

**07/18/2024**

 **0900 hours**

 **G &K HQ, Moscow, Russia**

Ralph, Kalina, and the six T-Dolls sat a table at one of the cafes at G&K Headquarters. Like the rest of the HQ building, the cafe was designed with a sterile white aesthetic, and since the cafe was by the living quarters, it was on the third floor of the HQ building. The cafe was sort of in a semicircular shape, and the outer edge of it was just made up of windows, which allowed the group to look down at the streets of Moscow below them.

Despite the group having just finished breakfast, there was not much conversation among them, and they simply sat around the table as their empty plates rested on top of it. Most of them were looking expectantly at Ralph, but the commander was busy sipping from a cup of coffee while taking in the view of the streets below. It took a while for him to notice their gazes.

"What're you all staring at me for?"

"Um… You texted me this morning and told me to bring everyone here," Kalina reminded him.

"Oh, yeah," he nodded. "It's about our next mission."

AR-15 perked up at that. "Did you find something out?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Our first objective is to convince Helian to let us go in the first place," Ralph said. "If we can't do that, then any and all information that we find is just going to end up being useless in the end."

"And so? How do we convince her?" AR-15 pressed.

"I was hoping any of you had some ideas," Ralph replied, taking another sip of coffee.

"You're the commander. Shouldn't you be leading us?" Kar98k pointed out.

"What, and the rest of you are just dumb robots who follow me around? Your AI is capable of this much at least," Ralph shot back.

"Perhaps we can bribe her?" AK-12 suggested.

"We can't do that!" Kalina immediately rejected, shocked.

Ralph grinned. "Hey, at least she's coming up with ideas, unlike the rest of you. But yeah, that's a dumb plan. Helian's not the type of person who would accept any sort of bribe."

"Then we threaten her?" AN-94 changed course.

"That's even worse!" Kalina wailed.

Ralph laughed. "Damn, you Russians are hardcore. But no, we can't do that either for obvious reasons. Someone please suggest something sensible."

"Maybe we could make her feel guilty about losing the AR Team?" WA2000 said. "Like make her feel bad enough so that she sends us to recover them or something."

Ralph thought about it. "Hm… Nah. Helian's not that type of person either. She's way too professional to be swayed by petty emotions like that."

"Do we really need her approval that badly? Is it possible to just go around her?" DSR-50 asked.

"It's _possible_ , sure, but that probably wouldn't work out well for us," Ralph answered her. "If we presented the idea of launching an expedition to rescue the AR Team to any other senior G&K officer, they'd probably laugh, punish me for being stupid, and then take you girls away and reassign you to your proper posts. The only reason why Helian didn't do that is because I know her, and that's also the reason why we have to convince either her or nobody at all."

The group was at an impasse, and silence reigned over the table once more.

"Guess I'll just have to find some way myself, then," Ralph sighed, getting up.

The commander then walked away, leaving the girls to themselves.

"You with the pink hair," AK-12 said, addressing AR-15, "What did you do to the Commander to make him so eager to help you? I am curious."

"I didn't do anything," AR-15 insisted.

"I find that hard to believe. Perhaps you offered him your body? I am sure he would like that."

"No, of course not!" AR-15 blushed. "He told you already, didn't he? He needs my help for something, so he's got to help me with this first."

"And what is that something?" Kar98k asked.

"That's… Private. You'll have to ask him."

"Oho, so I was right," AK-12 smirked.

"No, you were not! It's nothing like that!" AR-15 yelled indignantly. "It's just that… I can't really tell any of you the details because what he's trying to do is ridiculous and probably wouldn't be allowed by G&K. However, since Helian mentioned it yesterday, I guess I can give you a general idea. Ralphie wants to go to America, and he thinks I can help him get in."

"America? It is extremely difficult to get into that country," AN-94 said.

"Yes, which is exactly the problem," AR-15 nodded. "Ever since World War III ended, America has become more and more reclusive. The country is run by its military, and you're not allowed in or out unless you're also part of the military. Needless to say, G&K personnel are not welcome there. In fact, they'd probably kill you on sight if they realized you were from a PMC or any other foreign paramilitary group."

"But why does he want to go there so badly?" Kalina then asked, evidently not knowing about any of this either. "I know he's from there, but I also know that he has no family and no home back there either. He's never even set foot there since he was a child."

"National pride, maybe?" Kar98k posited.

"I doubt that. I'm American too, but I don't really feel any need to go back there," AR-15 replied. "Ralphie isn't the type of person to feel nationalistic about a country just because he was born there. As for the real reason why he wants to go back, even I don't know."

After hearing AR-15's words, Kar98k's mind flashed back to when WA2000 was lecturing Ralph back at the hotel in Bangkok. At that time, she had thought that it was strange that Ralph actually did have a strong goal that he was fighting for. His desire to now go and find the AR Team further cemented that. But even so, Kar98k still found it strange that someone like Ralph would be so set on achieving his goal. Most people like him were mere vagrants who saw nothing but lust and greed, and though on the surface he was no better, he did seem to have a driving factor besides those two things that propelled him…

* * *

Ralph strolled through the white halls of the HQ building, heading for the main command center where the highest-ranked G&K personnel dealt with the main strategic operations of the PMC. Helian would undoubtedly be there, and though he was sure she would be annoyed at him for interrupting her in the middle of work, he would never be able to catch her in a 'good' mood because she was perpetually sour.

When he reached one of the entrances that led to the room, he was greeted with the sight of what appeared to be a young girl holding a submachine gun guarding the door. She had long, white hair and blue eyes, and she wore a forest-green military coat on top of a green skirt.

"Can I please see your ID, sir?" the T-Doll asked, her voice tinged with a Russian accent.

Ralph pulled out his G&K ID card from his wallet and showed it to her. The girl squinted at it, then frowned.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this area is off-limits to G&K commanders below the rank of major."

"The fuck? I've been in there plenty of times before," Ralph told her.

"Anyone below that rank or without special clearance requires an escort," the girl said. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you in."

"Listen here you shitty loli -"

"Is there a problem?" a deep voice asked from behind Ralph. Ralph turned around to see a large man with black hair and a black beard wearing a military uniform with a red coat draped around his shoulders. He was instantly recognizable as Kryuger, one of the founders of Grifon and Kryuger.

The T-Doll immediately snapped to a salute, but Ralph just scowled.

"I'm trying to get in, but this T-Doll won't let me."

Kryuger glanced down at the T-Doll who trembled a bit in fear of being reprimanded.

He turned back to Ralph. "This OTs-39 Doll is just doing her job. No need to be so abrasive. By the way, who are you again? I know you're one of Asterid's, but your name just slipped my mind."

"It's Ralphie…"

"Oh, right, Ralphie," Kryuger closed his eyes and nodded. "How could I forget you? How was Thailand? I heard good things about your performance."

"Well, it was tough sneaking into the enemy base and taking out both their commanders, but I managed somehow," he smugly replied, shooting a snide glance and a smirk at OTs-39.

Kryuger nodded absently. "Right, then. Let's go in, I suppose."

OTs-39 saluted and stepped aside as she opened the door, allowing Ralph and Kryuger to pass through. The command center was a large, relatively dark room lit up by the various big monitors that lined the walls and the front of the room. There was light emanating from the various desks that had been placed in the room as well, and G&K personnel moved throughout the room or sat in front of one of the monitors or desks, most of them in military uniform.

"So then, what did you need?" Kryuger asked Ralph. "Or have you come to talk to Helian?"

"Yes, just come to see my sister, sir," Ralph answered, obviously not divulging the true nature of his visit.

Kryuger nodded, then scanned the room with his trained eyes. "She's over there at the desk in the back."

Ralph thanked his superior and then made his way over to Helian, who was busy talking on the phone to someone.

"... Yes, yes. The League will take care of everything, but we need to maintain a presence there regardless… Right. Okay. Goodbye."

She hung up the phone and then glared at Ralph. "I thought I told you not to disturb me at work. And how did you even get in here?"

"Mr. Kryuger let me in," Ralph answered, jerking his thumb back in the direction of Kryuger, who had now taken up his seat at the center of the room where he could direct all operations from.

"Don't tell me you made trouble for Mr. Kryuger too," Helian groaned.

"I didn't do shit."

"Fine, whatever. What do you want?" Helian demanded.

"The AR Team," Ralph began, "let me go and find them."

Helian pressed a hand to her temple. "Not this again… I already told you, no."

"You can't just say 'no.' Do you even -"

Helian's eyes narrowed as she suddenly shifted her attention away from Ralph and towards something in the far end of the room. Following her gaze, Ralph turned to see what had made her change focus so abruptly.

Talking to Kryuger was a thin, old man dressed in an expensive black suit. He had pure white hair and slightly wrinkled skin, but despite his harmless appearance, his golden eyes shone like a hawk's. He smiled as he briefly conversed with Kryuger, and the burly PMC boss returned his pleasantries with a nod and a few words of his own. Afterwards, the old man turned to Ralph and Helian and began walking towards them.

"Did you know Father was visiting today?" Helian hissed to Ralph under her breath.

"No," Ralph shrugged as Mr. Asterid approached the pair.

"Ah, both of you are here, good," Mr. Asterid greeted Ralph and Helian with a smile. "How was Thailand, Ralphie? I heard you did quite well there."

"You could say that," Ralph simply replied with a haughty smirk.

"Father. I wasn't aware that you were coming today," Helian said.

Mr. Asterid chuckled. "Well, that's because I didn't tell you. I didn't originally plan on coming today, but I have my reasons."

"Well… Since you're here, can you please tell Ralphie that going after the missing AR Team is foolish?" Helian brought up. "He really thinks -"

"The AR Team?" Mr. Asterid repeated with mild surprise as he looked at Ralph. "Oh, what a coincidence. Good! I think that is a very good idea, Ralphie."

Helian's jaw dropped. "F-Father, you can't be serious!"

"What? What's the problem?" Mr. Asterid smiled, his expression mirroring Ralph's own shit-eating grin.

"See? Told you it was a good idea," Ralph gloated.

Helian scowled at Ralph, then turned back to her father. "But -"

Mr. Asterid held up a hand. "Hold that thought, Helian. Ralphie, I have something to discuss with you, but preferably not here. Follow me."

Mr. Asterid began heading out of the command center, and Ralph followed, but not before shooting Helian another victorious smirk. With a frustrated sigh, Helian sat back down at her desk and shook her head.

* * *

WA2000 strolled aimlessly through the white, futuristic halls of the large G&K HQ building. Given that her commander was off on his own and she had no specific orders to attend to, she essentially just had a lot of free time to herself. This was her first time at the Headquarters building, so she decided to spend some of it by exploring the area. She guessed that she probably wasn't allowed outside of the building, so she would have to satisfy herself by wandering around the interior instead.

Getting bored of simply going from hallway to hallway, WA2000 entered the courtyard in the center of the building. It was a large, open space with a few plants and a fountain in the middle, and the roof of the courtyard was made from glass so that the sunlight could shine through. Today, however, it was relatively cloudy in Moscow, so the courtyard remained mostly gray.

 _There's not much to do here,_ WA2000 complained to herself as she walked up to the fountain. The only thing she did so far at the base besides eat and sleep was go to the firing range a couple times. As much as she disliked her commander, she kind of hoped that he would hurry and get on with the mission so she could at least feel like she was being useful.

As she stood by the fountain doing nothing in particular, she noticed two short girls walking into the courtyard. They both wore similar uniforms of a black and gold color, and they even looked alike, so WA2000 assumed they were sisters. One had long light brown hair while the other had her more auburn-colored locks tied up in two twintails, and they were busy conversing in German, WA2000's native tongue. However, they stopped suddenly when they spotted the sniper, and the the two of them stared at her in surprise.

"Um… Hello?" WA2000 nervously greeted in German.

"Oh, hello," the light brown-haired one replied back, regaining her composure. "Sorry for the staring. You look like someone we used to know."

"Exactly like her," the auburn-haired one noted with a nod. "You're probably the same model, right? A WA2000 T-Doll?"

"Yes. How did you know that? And who are you?" WA2000 asked.

"I am UMP45, and this is my sister, UMP9," the light brown-haired one introduced. "Like I said, we used to know a Doll like you."

 _Well, that explains why they're speaking German,_ WA2000 thought, recognizing the guns as being German weapons.

"You're newly-constructed, aren't you?" UMP9 asked.

"Yes, I was built at the Berlin base a few months ago," WA2000 confirmed. "So there was another WA2000 before me?"

"Yeah. We used to do some missions with her. She's gone now, though," UMP45 said.

"Gone? Is she…"

UMP45 shrugged lightly. "She's MIA and assumed dead. We can't really talk about the details."

"Nice to see they made a new one!" UMP9 cried out, lightly slapping WA2000 on the arm a couple times. "Her spirit lives on in you!"

"Uh, right." WA2000 didn't know how she felt about being the second model of her T-Doll type. It was certainly a weird experience, knowing that someone who looked (and possibly acted) exactly like you already existed and is now dead.

"So, what are you doing out here in Russia? I thought a powerful model like you would be assigned to the frontlines," UMP9 continued.

"I _was_ at the frontlines, just so you know," WA2000 shot back. "My squad just came back from Thailand, in fact. You may have heard of us."

UMP45 looked thoughtful. "Ooooh, that. You're the guys that got your asses saved by the Russians, right?"

"That's not at all how it went!" WA2000 protested shrilly.

"Woah, what're you screaming about?" Ralph said as he walked into the courtyard. "I could hear your ass all the way out from the halls."

"C-Commander?" WA2000 stuttered, surprised at his sudden appearance.

"Yo," Ralph raised a hand in greeting as he walked up to her. "So… Who're your two cute friends?"

"UMP9, at your service, sir!" UMP9 introduced, giggling a bit.

"I am UMP45," UMP45 nodded to Ralph. The two SMG T-Dolls had switched back to English when Ralph appeared, as did WA2000. "You are this WA2000 Doll's commander?"

"Yep. Has she been causing problems again?" Ralph asked.

"What do you mean 'again'!?" WA2000 cried out.

"Relax," Ralph smirked at her. "By the way, about that mission… We're all set to go. Told ya I'd get things done."

"... You managed to convince Miss Helian?" To be honest, WA2000 was not expecting him to be able to do so, at least not so quickly.

"Well, not exactly, but the details don't matter." Ralph then turned to the UMP Dolls. "You two got a commander around here? You should ditch him and come with us."

"Oh? You're rather bold," UMP45 replied. "We don't have a commander to begin with, though."

Ralph raised an eyebrow. "I thought all T-Dolls were assigned a commander? Or are you still in training?"

UMP9 laughed. "Training? We're far more experienced than you or your WA2000 Doll, sir."

"Quite a claim. Sounds like bullshit to me, though," Ralph fired back.

"It's true. We're part of the 404 Squad," UMP45 said.

"Uh, is that name supposed to mean something to me?" Ralph wondered. "Sorry, never heard of you."

"That's because the types of operations we undertake are usually more clandestine," UMP45 told him. "We're basically a better, more secretive version of the AR Team."

"I mean… If I haven't heard of you, then you probably aren't all that special," Ralph said. "I've definitely heard of the AR Team, but your 404 or whatever could be made up for all I know. Like I said, sounds like bullshit."

"It's not!" UMP45 insisted, now getting annoyed.

"I might believe you if you come with us and show us your skills firsthand," Ralph then added.

UMP9 grinned at that. "Nice try. How's the pay?"

Ralph frowned. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean? It's the same rate G&K gives to all their T-Dolls."

"That meager amount? Hah! We'll pass, then," UMP9 waved him off.

"404 Squad only takes on special ops missions assigned directly by HQ, so we usually get paid more," UMP45 said. "If you can't offer us anything more than the standard rate, then it's not really worth our time."

"What a long-winded way of saying you're scared, heh," Ralph baited. "It's okay, I get it. We're going to go looking for the missing AR Team, so ordinary scrubs like you two who fantasize about being a '404 special ops squad' probably won't cut it anyway."

"You're looking for the AR Team?" UMP9 immediately asked, ignoring the insults Ralph threw in. "That sort of sounds like something we would normally do…"

"What's your name, sir?" UMP45 then asked Ralph.

"Ralphie. You interested now?"

"Ralphie…" UMP45 repeated as she held her chin in her hand in a thinking pose. "I can't say I've ever heard that name before. Why would a no-name commander be assigned to a job like this?"

"Excuse me, that's disrespectful," Ralph chided as he flicked UMP45 on the forehead, much to her annoyance.

"W-watch where you touch people!" UMP45 yelled, holding her forehead.

"That sounds so wrong," Ralph grinned. "Anyway, you two just sit back at HQ while the real fighters put in some work. Maybe we'll bring you back a souvenir or two. C'mon, WA, let's go."

Reluctantly following her commander, WA2000 gave the two UMP sisters a parting nod before leaving. She caught up to Ralph and scowled at him.

"Why were you being so rude to them, sir?" WA2000 demanded to know, frustrated with Ralph's constant cavalier attitude.

"Huuuuh? You call that 'being rude'?" Ralph chuckled. "Why do you care, though? Looking out for your German pals?"

"No! It's just embarrassing to have a commander like you!" she retorted bitterly.

"You're embarrassed by me but not by yourself? Your annoying-ass screaming can probably be heard by everyone within a five-mile radius!" Ralph yelled back at her. "But never mind that. There's work that needs to be done, so stop with your childish whining and let's go."

Seething with anger, WA2000 was nevertheless forced to obey, so she continued following Ralph until they reached the dorms where they were staying. Ralph opened the door to his room, and he and WA2000 entered to see three T-Dolls lazing around. ST AR-15 was sitting on the couch and watching TV, her cheek resting on her fist and a bored expression on her face. AN-94 lay on the bed on her back, staring at the ceiling with a blank look. AK-12 appeared to have been wandering around the room, but she stopped when WA2000 and Ralph entered.

"Ah, Commander, you're back," AK-12 greeted. "Finally. There's not much to do here, is there? I was hoping to maybe find a porn magazine in here because I thought that was a fixture in men's rooms, but you don't even have that."

"There's internet here, so I don't need it," Ralph simply replied. "But don't worry, your boredom ends now. We've got permission to go looking for the AR Team."

AR-15 perked up at that. "Really? When do we leave? Where do we start?"

"We'll probably leave tomorrow morning after we get all the supplies and shit, and as for where we start, we're going to Greece first."

"Greece!" AR-15 repeated, clearly unhappy. "There's no way anybody from the AR Team is in _Greece_! We have to go back to China!"

"Calm down. We're going to Greece for intel reasons, not to search for the missing T-Dolls," Ralph told her.

"W-what is that supposed to mean?" AR-15 demanded.

Ralph wore an annoyed frown. "Stop overreacting and use your computerized brain for a minute. Nobody, not even the League commanders who were at Kunming, know where the AR Team went, so what good would just going back to Kunming do? Luckily, however, someone on the island of Santorini seems to know about where they're likely to have gone."

"Pardon the interruption, but why would someone halfway across the world know that information?" AK-12 asked.

"Well… The situation is a bit more complicated than we first thought," Ralph admitted. "But that's all I can say for now - oh, one more thing: this mission is probably going to be far more dangerous than any of us thought, so yeah."

"So the AR Team went missing for a reason and did not just get lost, then?" AN-94 questioned, now sitting up on the bed. "Your words seem to indicate that there is an underlying plot to their disappearance, Commander."

Ralph closed his eyes and smirked. "Indeed that's the truth, comrade. But again, that's the most I can say right now. Be prepared to leave tomorrow."

The commander and WA2000 then left the room, presumably to tell Kalina and the other T-Dolls about the operation. The two Russians and AR-15 remained behind, each of them thinking about the mission.

"Well, at any rate, it seems this mission will be much different from the ground wars we're used to participating in," AK-12 said to AN-94, who nodded in response.

AR-15 glanced at them. "You two have never done a mission like this before? You've only fought in major battles?"

AK-12 nodded. "Yes. Special ops of this nature are new to us. Not to you, I presume?"

"That's right," AR-15 replied softly, looking down. She said no more than that, so AK-12 decided not to press her.

"I wonder if the Commander has experience with this type of operation," AK-12 changed the subject.

That tactic seemed to work, and AR-15 looked up again, though there was still a somber look in her eye. "He does."

"Is that the type of thing he used to do in Africa?" AN-94 wondered.

"I don't know what he did in Africa, but I can tell you that he has been on special ops missions afterwards," AR-15 said. "I think he will be reliable for this mission."

"That is good to hear. Though he might be rather barbaric, the Commander's tactics can at least be trusted," AK-12 decided.

"Yes, he can be a good companion sometimes," AR-15 agreed with a small smile. "... But I have both heard and witnessed him doing deplorable things. It's best to keep your distance from him."

"I didn't plan on getting close to him in the first place," AK-12 chuckled. "Though if I do have to serve under him, I'd prefer to get along with him at the very least."

"He threatened to leave you behind when you were dying," AN-94 pointedly reminded her.

"Oh, that's in the past," AK-12 dismissed rather easily. "I told you I don't take it personally, right?"

"Even if you say that… It's unforgivable!" AN-94 said with quiet fury.

"No need to go that far on my account," AK-12 grinned, amused. "How about we just focus on completing our next mission for now?"

AN-94 backed down reluctantly. "... If you say so."

AR-15 raised an eyebrow at the relationship the two Russians seemed to have, but she said nothing. Instead, she stood up and began walking out of the room.

"Where are you going?" AK-12 asked.

"Shooting range," came the simple reply.

AR-15 headed out and began walking to one of the gun ranges on the base, located in the basement of the building. It was a gray, undecorated area filled with nothing but the sound of weapons firing and the slight pull of the trigger, and as expected, many G&K agents, mercenaries, and T-Dolls were busy training with all kinds of weapons. AR-15 headed to the armory in the back of the shooting range, which was a huge room filled with all kinds of guns and ammunition. As usual, she selected the ST AR-15, the weapon she was built to use, and then claimed an empty slot at the range.

Standing still but firm, AR-15 raised her weapon and looked through the scope at the target downrange. With trained precision, she fired her gun methodically. The gun tapped against her body with recoil as if to signal that it recognized her presence, and the muzzle obeyed her orders flawlessly as the bullets flew downrange and buried themselves into the human-shaped target. The report of the rifle sounded in her ears, but since T-Dolls were built to easily withstand such noises, it was of no consequence to her. The orchestra of guns around her became mere background music as AR-15's thoughts drowned out everything else.

 _Are they really alive?_ She asked herself as she fired once again. _Or is this just a mission to retrieve their corpses?_

She had said to Ralph that she wanted to find the AR Team even if they were dead, but truth be told, she never truly believed that. She needed them to be alive, and if they really were dead, she didn't know if she could handle it.

With a small grunt of frustration, AR-15 fired her last shot into the target. _That isn't how a Tactical Doll should think. I was built to fight… So why did they have to program such useless emotions into me?_

She couldn't answer that question. All she could do was reload, aim her rifle, and pull the trigger again.

* * *

With a loud clunking noise, the bottled iced coffee drink slid down the vending machine and into the slot at the bottom. Ralph reached down and picked it up, unscrewing the cap with a 'pop' and then taking a brief swig.

"What did he tell you?"

Ralph glanced over at Helian, who had appeared behind him. He had heard her approaching from a fair distance away, but he kind of hoped she would just walk past him.

"Eeeeeh?" Ralph feigned ignorance.

Helian's frown grew deeper. "Father. What did he say to you."

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Ralph answered before taking another sip.

"Because he obviously won't tell me!" Helian shot back, frustrated.

"Then there you go. You're not meant to know."

"Why you -" Helian paused for a bit, recollecting her usual cool demeanor. "What could you two have possibly discussed that I am not allowed to know about?"

"A surprise party for you, perhaps?" Ralph joked with a small smile.

Helian did not find that funny. "Don't play games with me."

Ralph shrugged. "Dunno what you expect me to say. Mr. Asterid clearly did not want anybody aside from me to know about this information, so I don't think I can tell you. Sorry."

"You brat," Helian spat, losing her temper again.

"What, you mad that your own father trusts a stranger with information he can't even tell his daughter?" Ralph jeered.

"You're not a stranger, and that honestly makes this worse," Helian said. "I know both you and Father fairly well by now. If you two are conspiring like this, I am one-hundred percent sure that you're up to something both dangerous and morally questionable."

"How can you say that about your family members? You've wounded me," Ralph protested, though the teasing smirk he wore didn't do much to help his act.

"Weren't you just calling yourself a stranger a minute ago? You're purposely being an ass, as always," Helian accused him. "But fine, if you don't want to tell me, then don't. I'll find out eventually."

"Oh, I have no doubt," Ralph returned with a smile.

Fed up with talking to her adopted brother, Helian sighed in defeat. "If you're really going looking for the AR Team, then try not to get yourself killed. Both Father and G&K have spent a lot of resources on your education, so don't let it go to waste."

"Sure, sure," Ralph waved to her as he walked off.

On the way out, Ralph passed by Kar98k, who was walking in the opposite direction. The T-Doll saluted her commander, but Ralph merely raised a lazy hand in greeting as he sipped his drink and continued on his way casually.

Kar98k made her way over to Helian and saluted her as well. "You are Miss Helian, are you not?"

Helian looked a bit confused as to why the Doll was talking to her, but she answered regardless. "Yes. You're one of the T-Dolls Ralphie brought with him."

"Kar98k of the Third Reich, at your service," she introduced. "I heard you are the Commander's sister, ma'am."

"Adopted sister, but yes. Why are you asking?"

"Forgive me if this is overstepping a boundary, but I was curious to know more about the Commander," Kar98k told her. "Since you have lived with him for some time, I thought you would be the best person to ask."

Helian smirked at her. "Suspicious of him?"

"N-no, ma'am, I -"

"It's okay. You don't have to hide it," Helian replied with a wry smile. "It's only natural. And don't worry, I won't tell him about this conversation."

"All right… Then can I ask what type of person he is?" Kar98k ventured.

"Hm… Not sure what you mean by that. I assume you want to know if he is actually the brute he seems like?"

Reluctantly, Kar98k nodded.

"Then in that case, the answer is yes," Helian informed her. "Do you know about Ralphie's past?"

"That he was a child soldier in Africa?"

"Yes. Do you know any of the specifics?"

Kar98k thought about it. "... No, I don't believe so."

Helian smirked again. "I don't either, to be honest. All I know is that his time spent there was far from pleasant, though I suppose that's no surprise. Anyway, after all that, it's expected that he turned out the way he did."

Kar98k had heard all this already from Kalina, and it didn't really help alleviate the doubts she had in her mind. So far, she had seen two sides of her commander. One was the officer who led them into battle, fought with them, and ultimately ended up securing a great victory. The other, however, was the ruffian who brutally killed four people, cursed constantly and spit tobacco juice everywhere, and was perfectly fine with leaving behind a dying comrade. What Kar98k really wanted to know was which one her commander truly was.

Helian noticed Kar98k's silence. "I'm sorry, but I can't really help you any more than that. If you're going to work with Ralphie, though, just be sure to be on your guard. Despite all the education and training he's received since being pulled out of Africa, at his core, a man can never forget his true nature. But maybe that's why…"

"That's why what?" Kar98k latched on.

"No, it's nothing," Helian shook her head. "If there's one thing I will say in defense of him, it's that he's no ordinary thug. He may act like that on the outside, but… "

Once again, Kar98k recalled WA2000's speech and the Commander's reaction to it.

"... But he has aspirations that are very important to him," Kar98k finished.

Helian gave her a knowing smile. "So you noticed too, huh? But yes, you're right. That's why, in spite of all his flaws, I believe we can count on him as a G&K commander. Just be careful that those flaws of his don't end up swallowing you up before you can see the finished product."

With that closing statement, Helian walked away. Kar98k saluted her once again as she left, but her mind was still fixed on Ralph's reaction back at the hotel in Bangkok.

 _So even someone like that has grand goals…_ Kar98k stared at the white tiled floor. _Why… Why does that feel so familiar to me? Why can't I stop thinking about it…?_


	6. The Cage III

_A/N: Just going to take a brief moment to address the last review here, partly because it's a guest review and so I can't respond via PM and partly because I need to make a small announcement._

 _Firstly, I can't and won't argue against the fact that the MC is a douchebag and an asshole, and that is actually what my announcement is about... Apparently I wasn't emphatic enough about it in the first chapter's warning, but this story is not for everyone. It is a niche story in an already niche fandom, and it is only going to appeal to a small number of people. The MC is not someone you want to emulate or look up to or whatever, but personally I think it is interesting to write an MC who I don't like as a person, and evidently there are people who also find it interesting to read about something like that. There will be far more people who are put off by this, though, so just to reiterate my warning from Chapter One: this story will be violent and "edgy," and the MC will not be a self-insert or a nice, kind guy you can relate to. Do not read this if you do not like those things. I'll probably go back and edit a few things in Chapter One's intro to make that more clear._

 _The rest of the review's criticisms didn't really make sense to me, though. You say that the MC demands respect "because he was a child soldier," but Ralph has not mentioned that he was a child soldier to anyone, so that's incorrect. He demands respect because of his position as a G &K commander, and then he abuses that power because he's an asshole. As to your point that the military would never take someone with "baggage," that is also factually untrue. Just look at the US military post-Vietnam; it was full of drug addicts, former criminals, and other unsavory types until it was cleansed through reform programs. Furthermore, G&K is a post-apocalyptic PMC and not a state-run military, and their reasoning for hiring people like Ralph was already explained in Chapter One. Lastly, saying that 404 should have beat Ralph up makes no sense. Though they could easily do that if they wanted to, there's nothing to gain by physically assaulting an authority figure on a military base just because he was slightly rude to you. That's an insane overreaction that would probably be something straight out of Ralph's book, lol. Anyway, I doubt you will read this, but I just wanted to clear that up in case other people were wondering the same things too._

 _Now onto the actual plot, and I apologize for the long delay._

* * *

 **07/22/2024**

 **Unknown Time**

 **Unknown Location**

The black, damp walls of the dungeon cell enclosed a sole figure as she hung from the ceiling by her wrists, which were chained together in handcuffs. The strain on her arms was exceedingly painful, especially since she had been in this position for quite some time now, but all she could do was grit her teeth and bear with it. The dungeon itself was relatively silent, with no sounds save for the soft, haunting drip of water and the occasional noise of a rat running around.

However, that silence was broken as the pattering of footsteps sounded on the stone floor. The chained woman instinctively tensed up at the noise as the footsteps got closer and closer.

"Still hanging in there, huh? Literally too," a male voice with an American accent said.

"You… You scum," the woman spat, her voice raspy.

"What a greeting," the man chuckled. "Be nicer, or I'll be forced to punish you again, M16."

"Go fuck yourself," M16A1 defiantly replied.

The man only laughed at that. "Cheer up. I've got news of your sister."

M16 lifted her head at that. "M4? If you bastards even looked at her the wrong way, I'll rip you limb from limb!"

"Oh? I'm surprised you still have the strength to make such statements. It seems our torturers were too light on you," the man chided. "But yes, back to what I was saying. It appears your sister does not have the information we were looking for."

"See? I told you, so now let us -"

"Instead, we've learned that the data is with the T-Doll known as 'M4 Sopmod.'"

M16's jaw momentarily dropped. "H-how did you -"

The man interrupted her with a bout of laughter. "Your pathetic sister told us everything! That girl was _much_ easier to torture than you were!"

"You fuck," M16 seethed. "I'll fucking kill you."

"Calm down, calm down," the man said, clearly enjoying the situation. "At the very least, your sister is still alive and won't be tortured anymore. In fact, it's the exact opposite! She'll be experiencing pleasure each and every day as the entire garrison fucks her brains out to their heart's content!"

Growling ferociously, M16 thrashed against her chains, but all that accomplished was making the man laugh even harder and the chains pull more harshly on her arms. In a few seconds, M16 was too tired to attempt any further resistance, and she panted as her lone eye burned with a smoldering hatred.

"Well then, that's all I had to say for now," the man finished as his laughter subsided. "The torturer will be visiting you soon, so you'll not be lonely for too long! Until next time!"

The man exited the dungeon, and M16 was left with terrible thoughts of what was happening to her sister, thoughts that were far more painful than anything the torturer could do to her.

 _Why? Why is this happening?_ She lamented, but she quickly realized that crying over the present state of things was useless. _All I can do is hope that Sopmod gets away… She needs to contact G &K, or everything is lost._

* * *

 **07/22/2024**

 **1600 hours**

 **Imerovigli, Santorini, Greece**

"Wow, what a place!" Ralph observed as he stepped out of the vehicle and took in the sight of the town of Imerovigli on the Greek island of Santorini.

"Ah, the weather here is nice," DSR-50 observed as she joined her commander. "If only I'd brought my swimsuit…"

"We're not here to play around!" WA2000 chided her companion.

"Eeeeeeh? We're not?" Ralph asked with a frown, purposely trying to piss of WA2000.

Unfortunately for him, though, WA2000 was used to it by now and refused to entertain him, instead just crossing her arms and turning up her nose at him.

"Commander, we should get the weapons out of the trunk," OTs-39 said as she hopped out of the jeep.

Ralph frowned at the white-haired SMG T-Doll. "Do it yourself. Can't you see we're enjoying the view here?"

"B-but I can't carry -"

"Oh, Commander, please don't bully her," AK-12 said with her usual mysterious smile as she placed a hand on OTs-39's shoulder. "Besides, weren't you the one who asked for her to come along?"

"Hell no! I asked for an SMG T-Doll because I hoped they would give me one of the UMPs, but I got her instead!" Ralph complained.

OTs-39 looked at the ground in disappointment.

"Commander…" AK-12 said disapprovingly.

"Well, at least she's cute," Ralph admitted. "Hey, if you come to my room tonight, maybe I'll forgive you for annoying me back at HQ."

OTs-39 gaze lifted as her eyes filled with hope. "R-really? But I'm not sure I understand…"

"There's nothing to understand, he's just being an ass," WA2000 said. "Don't bother taking him seriously."

"Excuse me? Should you be saying that about your commander?" Ralph shot back, acting offended.

"Sir, your weapon," their guide, Panos, interrupted as he handed Ralph a case which contained his AK-47. Panos was a short, tan-skinned man with a thick black mustache and dark hair, and he spoke with a heavy Greek accent. All the travel arrangements, including the hiring of the guide, had been taken care of by Mr. Asterid.

"Huh? Oh, do me a favor and carry that for me," Ralph told him.

"B-but sir, I was only hired as a guide, not to wield any weapons," Panos protested nervously.

"You'll carry it, or I'll open your throat," Ralph warned with a sinister smirk, his hand ghosting the machete that hung from his waist.

"Y-yes, sir…"

"The rest of you get your weapons too," Ralph ordered. "We're moving out. The sooner we complete this mission, the better."

"Ah… But wasn't Commander just complaining when I said that?" OTs-39 noted to AK-12 in Russian so that Ralph couldn't understand.

AK-12 smiled. "He was doing that to tease you, no doubt."

"It wasn't very funny…" OTs-39 frowned.

"You two, no languages other than English are to be spoken unless I order it," Ralph broke up their conversation.

"S-sorry, sir!" OTs-39 quickly replied, hurrying to pick her weapon out of the trunk.

"Panos! Get a move on it," Ralph yelled to the guide, gesturing him to lead the way.

The frightened Greek hurriedly complied, and he led the group through the quiet but colorful streets of Santorini. The island had been a popular tourist destination before the war, but now that traveling was a bit more difficult, the number of tourists was much smaller. Nevertheless, the seaside town of Imerovigli still had an air of foreign wonder to it, and the gentle ocean breeze combined with the shining sun put the T-Dolls at ease as they traveled through the town.

Panos led the group to a relatively large white building. The hotel was stationed by the edge of the caldera and had a good view of the water, and Ralph wondered how much it had cost Mr. Asterid to secure rooms for everyone here, if only for one night.

"This is the place, sir," Panos said, eager to be rid of his charges. "Shall I go now?"

"Who's gonna bring us to our contact if you're leaving?" Ralph asked.

"Ah, Mr. Asterid said that the person you are looking for will come to you," Panos informed him.

Ralph thought it over. "Hm… Well, I really wouldn't mind you staying around. Someone's gotta carry my gun, and I'm hoping you know some good restaurants around here."

"Please, sir, I have to get back to my family," Panos insisted.

"Fine, fine," Ralph relented, "just hand me my -"

The dangerous rip of a bullet interrupted Ralph's sentence, and the projectile buried itself into the outside wall of the hotel, sending white shards flying.

" _Scheisse_! Take cover!" WA2000 cried out as she crouched behind the entrance of the hotel with what little cover there was.

The T-Dolls were scrambling to unpackage their weapons, but Ralph knew there wasn't enough time for that. Instead of grabbing his gun case out of Panos' hands, Ralph grabbed the man himself and used him as a human shield. That decision proved to be a prudent one, for not a moment later, a second shot came whizzing through the air and smacked into Panos, causing the Greek to gasp in pain.

The T-Dolls now had their weapons released and loaded, but the shots had stopped being fired.

"Did anyone see where the bullets were coming from?" Kar98k asked, her red eyes scanning the picturesque seaside villa.

"Looked to me like they originated from that staircase over there," DSR-50 answered, gesturing towards a cobblestone path that led down towards the hotel.

The group turned their attention and their weapons towards the staircase, waiting for the assailant to fire again. However, instead of another shot, a figure appeared instead, slowly walking down the path and towards the group, his hands in the air. At this time, Ralph was vaguely aware that the dying man in his clutches was dying no longer and had passed on.

The shooter revealed himself to be a tall, well-dressed man of about thirty. He also had black hair and tan skin, and he had a groomed pointed beard and a thin, sharp mustache. His black hair was wavy and thick, and a glint of amusement could be seen in his brown eyes even as he walked towards the armed group, his hands still in the air.

"Are you the shooter?" WA2000 ventured, glancing momentarily at the pistol on his hip.

"Yes," the man spoke English suavely with a Greek accent. "Apologies for the disturbance."

"Oh? You've got some nerve showing yourself to us," Ralph grinned as he tossed the corpse to the ground and unsheathed his machete. "I think I'll carve your heart out for daring to fire upon me out of the blue like that."

"Ah, my good sir, you are mistaken. It was that man I was aiming for, not you," the man replied, gesturing towards Panos with his chin.

Ralph wore a look of confusion. "The guide? The fuck are you talking about?"

The man smirked. "Well you see, that man and I have a bit of history. To make a long story short, I once coerced him into delivering a shipment of illicit substances for me, but instead of completing the task, he went to the police and had myself and a few of my subordinates arrested. This is simply my payback."

"So… You're some sort of smuggler?" Ralph surmised.

"Indeed, my friend," the man nodded, putting his hands down but still very aware of all the guns trained on him. "My name is Georgios. Perhaps you may know it?"

Ralph's turquoise eyes lit up in recognition. "You're the guy we're supposed to meet, aren't you?"

Georgios broke out into a grin. "Yes, that is so. And I assume you are Ralphie, Mr. Asterid's son?"

"Yep. A pleasure," Ralph greeted, extending his hand.

Georgios shook it wholeheartedly. "Indeed, indeed! Your father has been a great help to me. He was the one who orchestrated my release from prison."

"G&K is doing business with smugglers now!" WA2000 whispered indignantly to Kar98k.

Ralph nodded. "Then it also makes sense why he selected Panos as our guide. Well, you've got your revenge now."

"Another thing I have to thank your father for," Georgios nodded. "Anyway, enough of this talk of revenge. You are in Santorini! You should be enjoying yourself."

"This fuck was just shooting at us!" WA2000 once again angrily observed to her comrades.

"I wish I could, but I'd really like to get this fucking mission done with as soon as possible, so I'd appreciate it if you'd just give me the information we need to know," Ralph told him.

"Efficient like your father, I see, I see! Well, no matter, then. If it is information you're after, then you shall have it," Georgios said. "Though since you will be staying here for one night regardless, perhaps it would be best to explain it to your whole group over dinner? I can get the best seats here if you and your beautiful friends would do me the honor of dining with me."

"Couldn't hurt, I guess," Ralph acquiesced. "Tonight, then?"

Georgios nodded. " _Exochos_! Meet me at this spot at seven, then."

The smuggler left, and the T-Dolls began packing up their weapons again. A few tourists had come out of the hotel due to the commotion, and a middle-aged lady screamed shrilly as she spotted Panos' bloody corpse staining the smooth white stone flooring.

"Sir? What do we do about that?" Kar98k asked Ralph, grimacing at the sight of the body and the sound of the panicking tourists.

Ralph scratched his head as he stared at the body, wondering what to do with it. "Fuck, I wish that dumbass would dispose of his own trash… Well, whatever. Toss it into the sea."

"Um, are you sure that's -"

"Yep," Ralph cut her off, "just throw it right over the railing here."

With an expression of mild disgust, Kar98k carefully picked up the corpse bridal-style and then heaved it over the ledge. The body hit a few rocks on the cliffside on the way down, but it eventually disappeared into the blue water with a splash.

"What about that pool of blood?" AR-15 pointed out the spot where Panos' body used to be.

Ralph groaned. "Just leave it. I'm done with this shit."

The commander picked up his gun case and headed into the hotel with it. His T-Dolls glanced at each other, but they had no other course but to follow him in, passing the horrified tourists on the way.

Like the exterior, the inside of the hotel had a white, clean aesthetic to it. Ralph walked up to the reception area, which was currently empty, and impatiently tapped his fingers on the counter. A few seconds later, a disheveled-looking hotel staff member hurried out from the back room.

"You got a room for 'Asterid'?" Ralph asked.

"O-one moment, sir," the employee said as she searched the computer for it. "... Yes, two rooms? I'll have your keys in a minute."

 _Two rooms? That's it?_ There were eight of them, so that would mean there would be four people to a room. _Well, I guess even Mr. Asterid doesn't want to spend too much money if he doesn't have to._

Ralph took the keys from the jittery receptionist and headed up to the rooms, the rest of his group wordlessly following. The hotel was actually fairly small compared to some of the ones he had been in before, but then again, there didn't seem to be many people there in the first place.

When Ralph got to the first room, he opened it to reveal a medium-sized abode with white walls and a curved, white, stone ceiling. Light filtered in from the balcony on the far end of the room and reflected of the white tiled floor, and even from where he was standing, he could see the clear blue waters of the Aegean Sea. There was only one bed in the room, but it was large enough to fit three people comfortably. Ralph placed his weapon case down and tossed the second key to Kar98k, who caught it.

"Same rooms as HQ, I guess," Ralph told her. "Go in there and unpack or do whatever. Return here before seven."

The three Germans (along with OTs-39) left to go to the next room, and AK-12, AN-94, and AR-15 set their weapons down as well as they took in the hotel room.

"This place seems much nicer than the one in Bangkok," AK-12 observed.

"It looks expensive," AR-15 added. "How much did this cost?"

Ralph shrugged. "I'm not the one paying, so I don't give a fuck."

"Why is everything white?" AN-94 asked as she looked at the strangely-shaped walls with wonder.

"The whole town seems to have that look," AK-12 said. "Though I will admit, it certainly looks nice."

"Oh? There's even a private pool out here on the balcony," AR-15 noted, a hint of surprise creeping into her normally somber voice.

Ralph headed out onto the terrace as well, and he realized it was much bigger than he initially thought. Sure enough, on the corner of the terrace and overlooking the impressive caldera was a small pool.

 _Damn, Mr. Asterid didn't hold anything back on this one,_ Ralph thought, impressed.

"Helloooo, Commander!" DSR-50's voice called out to him, and he turned to his left to see the German sniper standing on her own terrace and waving at him with a grin.

"She seems happy," AR-15 noted as Ralph waved back.

"Can you blame her? This place is a lot nicer than I thought it would be," Ralph said.

"A shame we can only stay here one night," AK-12 lamented as she and AN-94 joined the two Americans on the terrace.

AR-15 stood rigid at that. "We must not forget what we came here for. However nice this place is, I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible and finish the mission."

She then left the terrace and headed back into the room.

* * *

After a brief shower and a couple hours wasted on some pre-war movie in the hotel room, Ralph had headed downstairs and back to the lobby of the hotel. His T-Dolls had of course joined him, and together they went out into the small courtyard outside the entrance of the hotel. The bloodstain from the recently departed Panos was still there, but what was new to the scene was the group of Greek policeman who had gathered in the area. The police looked up as Ralph and the T-Dolls walked outside, no doubt aware of what had occurred earlier.

Sighing, Ralph's hand inched towards his machete. The T-Dolls did not bring their weapons with them, but since they were combat androids trained in basic CQC, they could easily take out the group of lightly-armed police officers by themselves if need be.

However, it was then that Ralph noticed that Gregorios was also present and engaged in conversation with one of the officers. The Greek smuggler was dressed in a sharp white suit, and based on the easy smile he wore, his dialogue with the officer seemed to be going rather well. A few seconds later, the police officers walked off.

"Apologies for that," Gregorios said as he greeted Ralph and the T-Dolls. "We were simply discussing our friend who fell into the ocean earlier. Such an unfortunate accident."

"Yep, a real shame," Ralph smirked. It was evident that Gregorios had some influence in this town.

"Now, then, shall we go?" Gregorios asked. "As much as it pains me to admit this, I do not have the funds with which to pay for a dinner for a party as large as yours, Ralphie, but I can get a fair discount on the prices. If your budget is an issue, I can search for a less expensive venue."

"Nah, it's all right. Money's no problem," Ralph waved him off. He had Mr. Asterid's card for use on this mission, after all.

"Good, good! Then let us be off."

Ralph and his group followed Georgios to a high-end restaurant not too far from the hotel. All the tables were outside in the open air, and Georgios had them seated at a large, circular table in a slightly more private location, close to the cliffside and the sea. Ralph glanced around and noticed that most of the restaurant's patrons were dressed in formal outfits. Ralph himself simply had his standard white long-sleeve dress shirt and black pants, which made him look more like one of the waiters if anything. The T-Dolls drew quite the number of looks with their strange appearances, but the other customers were too absorbed in their own conversations to care for more than a few seconds.

"So," Gregorios began after they were seated, "I suppose I should start then?"

"Please do," Ralph replied as he took a sip from the glass of water the waiter had provided everyone at the table with.

"Ah, but first, if you'd permit me one question out of my own curiosity - that accent of yours, it's French, is it not?" Gregorios asked Ralph.

"Oh? You noticed? Not many people do."

"It's quite slight indeed," Gregorios smiled, pleased with himself for having guessed correctly. "I had thought you were American, though?"

"I am, but due to certain circumstances, I ended up learning French from an early age and mostly speaking it instead of English," Ralph told him. "But enough about me. I'm curious about you as well. You speak English pretty nicely, far better than most native English speakers, actually."

"You flatter me, but I confess, I have often been told that," Gregorios admitted. "My answer is a bit similar to your own: due to circumstances, I have also been speaking English from an early age. You see, before the war, my father was a person of high standing in Greek society, and so I was often made to read many of the English classics during the course of my private education. My tutor made me speak recite passages from those works as well, so this is the result of that practice. The only thing I cannot seem to get rid of is this accent, but I have been told that it is 'charming,' so perhaps it's best that I keep it after all."

"I see," Ralph nodded, his blue eyes glinting. "But how is it that a son of a high-ranking member of Greek society ended up as a smuggler?"

"That is an unfortunate tale of woe and despair, one that would be far too long to relate here," Gregorios said bitterly. "But the important details are that the regime changes after the war left my family at a disadvantage, and that my father was murdered by an organization that I am sure you are very familiar with."

"Sangvis Ferri?" Ralph ventured.

"The very same," Gregorios affirmed, an angry frown on his face. "Aside from the debts I owe Mr. Asterid, that is yet another reason why I am helping you with your mission."

"So, the disappearance of the AR Team has something to do with them after all," Ralph summed up.

AR-15 clenched her fists at this, and the rest of the T-Dolls seemed disturbed at the revelation as well.

The momentary tension was broken up when the waiter returned with the dishes. This restaurant either had a preset menu or Georgios had ordered specific dishes in advance, but either way, neither Ralph nor the T-Dolls seemed to care, for the food was appetizing enough on its own. The first dish was some sort of smoked fish along with a flurry of sides and sauces, and since no one in the group had eaten since morning, they dug in wholeheartedly.

"As I was saying, Sangvis Ferri is involved in this incident," Georgios continued soon after the waiters left, knowing Ralph was eager to hear the information. "It appears they are working with a team of American contractors, though it is possible that they are working with actual military personnel from the United States."

"What… Americans?" AR-15 asked, unable to suppress her shock.

Ralph grinned at Georgios' words, though he had already known this earlier.

"The American government is helping Sangvis Ferri?" WA2000 repeated in disbelief. "That's impossible!"

"Ah, but it's true," Georgios assured her. "It is only a temporary alliance, of course, and it is very possible that one or both parties are planning on betraying the other at some point."

"Why would the Americans ally with Sangvis Ferri and attack G&K operators?" Kar98k wondered. "The USA has done its best to remain as isolated and neutral as possible ever since the war ended. This action seems like a direct contradiction to their normal demeanor."

"They're not 'neutral.' They're just lying in wait," Ralph spoke up. "The only reason they haven't done anything major yet is because they were waiting for the right opportunity."

Georgios nodded. "So it appears you already know of the backstory for this incident, Ralphie."

"Yep, my father told me everything. I never bothered to tell the T-Dolls, though, so please continue," he said as he went back to his dinner.

"Very well, then," Georgios addressed the T-Dolls, who were very much interested in the plot. "The reason why the USA has sent military operatives to capture the AR Team is because the AR Team possesses information that the Americans need. Particularly, information as to the location of a cache of nuclear weapons."

"There's no way! The nuclear stockpiles were either used up or destroyed after the war!" WA2000 brought up.

"Indeed, which makes this find all the more interesting," Georgios said. "You all know that no country has the infrastructure, cohesion, and resources necessary to build new nuclear weapons at the moment. Therefore, this stash of weapons is especially important, as it will definitively tip the balance of power in favor of the owner."

"But what is a nuclear weapons cache doing just sitting out there? And where exactly is it?" DSR-50 asked.

"That, I do not know," Georgios confessed. "Though perhaps your commander may be more informed than I."

The group looked at Ralph.

"Fuck if I know," Ralph replied. "That's the whole point of finding the AR Team, right? Only they know exactly where it is."

"Regardless, only a few select parties even know that the AR Team has this information," Georgios told them. "One of them, obviously, is the US government, and the other is Mr. Asterid."

"And what about Sangvis Ferri and G&K?" AK-12 asked.

"I do not know whether the US government has informed Sangvis Ferri of their true intent. As for Grifon and Kryuger… Your organization does not have this information."

"G&K doesn't know?" Kar98k looked incredulous.

"The AR Team initially tried to send this information back to your headquarters, but evidently, it was intercepted. As to how the message was sent and the means as to which it was intercepted by, I do not know," Gregorios said.

"Even if that's the case, then why haven't we told G&K about this?" WA2000 questioned, turning to Ralph.

"That's Mr. Asterid's call to make, not mine," Ralph shrugged as he took a sip of water.

"Sir, surely you can't be serious?" Kar98k frowned. "As G&K T-Dolls, we are required to place the company's needs above our own and our commander's. We can't participate in an operation like this."

"What's the problem? It's not like we're acting against G&K's interests," Ralph countered. "In fact, it's the exact opposite. We're helping the company out by searching for their missing T-Dolls, and we're also keeping nuclear secrets out of the hands of Sangvis Ferri and foreign governments. Doesn't look like there's any conflict of interest to me."

"Then why not just tell Headquarters?" AK-12 said. "If they knew about this, then wouldn't they send additional reinforcements to help us? Why do this on our own, basically in secret?"

"It's just easier to operate this way. Getting too many people involved would only bloat the operation," Ralph answered. "Trust me, I'm only acting in G&K's best interest."

All the T-Dolls were clearly uneasy at that answer and the casual manner with which Ralph answered, but since there was no clear and present danger to Grifon and Kryuger, their AI did not override their immediate loyalty to their commander. Though they felt something was off about the situation, they had no choice but to obey Ralph's orders for now.

"Either way, I suppose I should get to the more direct information relating to your next objective," Georgios continued. "Firstly, you will want to pay a visit to Athens. My smuggling ring was contacted by one of the Americans, a major by the name of Chittenden, who apparently has the idea of making some money on the side while he and his partners are procuring the nuclear weapons. As my smuggling ring is one of the most effective in all of Europe, he chose to enlist our aid in his venture, but he obviously did not realize that I was his enemy. Either way, he plans to meet with some of my officers at the Parthenon in two days time at eight in the evening, so that is where you can ambush and interrogate him. Be warned that he will most likely bring security forces with him, though. As to the number and type of security he will employ, I am in the dark."

"Eh, shouldn't be too much of a problem. Seven T-Dolls has to be better than whatever soldiers he brings with him," Ralph said, undeterred.

"What if the contact brings T-Dolls as well?" AR-15 interjected.

Ralph frowned. While Grifon & Kryuger and Sangvis Ferri were the world's two most prevalent T-Doll contractors, the United States was the third biggest. Tactical Doll technology had originated in the USA, and the American branch of G&K was still producing T-Dolls even to this day. The AR Team themselves had actually all been produced by that branch, but the primary architect, Persica, had taken the AR Team Dolls with her when she left the USA and made it to G&K HQ shortly after the war. Still, the technology remained with the American branch, and so AR-15's question was a valid one.

"For an operation as important as this one? It is likely," Gregorios admitted.

"Wait, why would G&K sell Dolls to the Americans?" WA2000 asked, evidently not knowing the background of America's T-Doll situation.

"We didn't. The US military probably produced them themselves," AR-15 said. "G&K only sells T-Dolls to governments that we're allied with, such as Russia and Germany."

"So they're like Sangvis Ferri, then?" Kar98k wondered.

"Sort of… But their designs and combat technology are more similar to G&K's," AR-15 clarified.

"Well, whatever. We'll have the benefit of an ambush, so if they bring T-Dolls, then we'll just kill them too," Ralph waved off. "Anything else we should know?"

"I'm afraid that is all the information I have to offer," Gregorios said, then looked up as the waiters returned. "Ah, here comes the second course. Please, leave thoughts of your mission for later and enjoy the rest of your dinner."

* * *

"Ah, that Greek was not joking when he said the food at that restaurant was excellent," AK-12 said with satisfaction as Ralph and his T-Dolls walked back to the hotel.

"And he also wasn't joking when he said it was expensive," AN-94 pointed out. "Did you see the bill, AK-12?"

"How much was it?" OTs-39 asked, curious.

"More than anything your measly salaries could ever afford," Ralph cut in. "You better be grateful that I spent so much on you."

"U-um, I'm sorry, sir! Thank you!" OTs-39 quickly said.

Ralph grinned. "Haha! Look at your face! But to be serious, it's Mr. Asterid's money, not mine, so I had nothing to do with it."

"So your father spoils you, huh?" WA2000 sneered at him.

"Fuck no. He's the one who sent me on this mission, so he's not just handing me money for no reason. It's an investment that he wants a good return on."

Ralph then stopped, causing the T-Dolls to turn and look at him.

"I'm gonna go for a walk. You all can go back to the hotel," Ralph decided, turning around.

Most of the T-Dolls did just that, but AR-15 stayed behind. Ralph was about to go off and explore the rest of the seaside town, but he paused when he noticed that AR-15 had not left.

"What?" he asked, annoyed.

"You knew the Americans were behind this, didn't you?" she accused, her serious blue eyes fixing him with a stare.

"... How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"Right before we left HQ, I noticed you suddenly became a lot more enthusiastic about this mission. I know you don't actually care about the lives of the AR Team, so there must have been something else that made you want to go," AR-15 said.

"Um, yeah, and that was the fact that you refused to help me with my plans unless I found the AR Team for you first," Ralph reminded her.

"Yes, and you still only begrudgingly agreed to help," AR-15 pointed out. "However, after breakfast that day at HQ, you disappeared for a few hours and then returned with the news that the mission had been approved after all. Furthermore, you also came back with much more information than we initially had, like the fact that we had to go to Greece first. You were also acting strangely tonight at dinner, and it's clear that G&K didn't actually authorize this mission. You're doing this for your own personal gain."

"Oh, shit, you got me," Ralph replied with mock despair. "Of course I'm doing this for personal gain, dumbass. Anything anybody ever does is for their own personal gain in some way or another."

AR-15 narrowed her eyes at him. "And what exactly are you hoping to gain, Ralph? If whatever it is that you're planning is going to compromise the mission, then -"

"Calm down. The mission and your AR Team buddies will be fine, assuming they're still alive, that is," Ralph reassured her. "Don't worry about what I'm doing. If you're going to keep suspecting me of some sort of wrongdoing, then you're only going to fuck yourself over in the end."

With that, Ralph turned back around and headed off into the night.


	7. The Cage IV

**07/22/2024**

 **2200 hours**

 **Imerovigli, Santorini, Greece**

Ralph picked up the phone. "Hello?"

" _It's me,"_ the voice from the other end stated. Ralph recognized it as his foster father, Mr. Asterid.

The commander stared out at the black Aegean Sea that spread out before him as he rested his arms on a guardrail on the edge of one of Santorini's cliffs. "What is it?"

" _I've got bad news, I'm afraid. The company has learned of the existence of the nuclear weapons."_

Ralph perked up in alarm. "Really? How?"

" _I've got no clue, but it's not too surprising given G &K's vast information network."_

"So they know the real reason why I wanted to go on this mission?" Ralph summed up, a slight edge of frustration creeping into his tone.

" _Actually, no,"_ Mr. Asterid replied to the contrary. " _They've assumed that you really do just want to find the AR Team, and that you yourself don't know a thing about the nukes."_

"That's good, I guess… So what about the nukes? What's G&K doing about them?"

" _That's the real issue. They've sent Squad 404 on a covert operation to locate the nuclear weapons."_

Ralph recalled the UMP sisters back at HQ. They seemed cute and harmless enough.

"So… We just have to find them before 404 does?"

" _Yes, but it's obviously not going to be that simple. I assume you don't know about 404?"_

"I met the UMP sisters before, but other than that, no," Ralph admitted.

" _To put it simply, they are a special forces squad that Grifon uses for secret operations. The AR Team may be the face of G &K, but 404 is just as important. They do the 'dirty work,' so to speak, which means that if you get in their way, I have no doubt that they'll dispose of you regardless of your status as a G&K commander."_

"So it's like that, huh," Ralph smiled. "Well, then, surely they can't complain if I dispose of them if they get in _my_ way?"

" _They are no pushovers, Ralphie. Don't take them lightly."_

"Of course. So, where are they now and what are they doing?"

" _I just told you that they are a clandestine group. Even I don't have access to that kind of information. However, you can probably assume that they have no less information than you do, and so they are most likely somewhere nearby."_

"And I guess they'll be keeping an eye on me too?" Ralph asked.

" _That wouldn't surprise me. You and your squad are the ones who have 'officially' been assigned the mission to find the AR Team, so 404 will want to make sure you don't accidentally discover the nuclear weapon secret while you're at it."_

"Hm… All right, I see how it is. Rest assured, they won't be getting their hands on those nukes before I do."

" _Good. Well, that's all, then. I'll contact you again if I have any further information."_

Mr. Asterid ended the call. Ralph was about to put his phone away, but then he remembered that he hadn't contacted his official coordinator since he left HQ, so he put in some numbers and held his cell phone up to his ear.

" _Hello? Ralphie?"_ Kalina's voice responded from the other end of the line.

"Yep. We're on Santorini now," he told her.

" _Oh, good. Did you get any leads yet?"_

"Yep."

There was a short silence after that.

" _... Um, okay then. You're not going to give me specifics, but things are going well still?"_

"Yeah. Don't worry about us," he said.

" _That's great and all, but I still need to write a report and submit it to command,"_ Kalina told him. " _You really haven't given me much to go off here…"_

"And who exactly are you submitting that report to?" Ralph asked, now wary about divulging too much information to G&K.

" _Helian, I think? Why?"_

"If it's just Helian, then she won't mind a short report," Ralph said.

" _What! Do you even know your sister at all!?"_

Ralph smirked. "If she gets mad, just let her blame me. Not like she can do anything from all the way over there."

" _But -"_

"Kalina. The information I have is very sensitive, and so it can't fall into the wrong hands."

" _You don't trust me?"_

"'Course I do."

" _Then why -"_

"Oh, cheer up. At least you're not in Thailand anymore," Ralph cut her off.

Kalina sighed audibly. " _Okay… Just tell me if something important happens, all right?"_

"Yeah, sure. See ya."

" _Oh wait, one more thing. Commander Kinkaid was looking for you back at HQ."_

"That old bastard? What the fuck did he want with me?"

" _I don't know. He wouldn't say."_

"All right, well fuck him. I'm not under his command anymore," Ralph said. "Is that it?"

" _Yeah. Bye."_

"Bye."

Ralph ended the call and pocketed his phone, then began heading back in the direction of the hotel.

* * *

 **07/24/2024**

 **2000 hours**

 **Athens, Greece**

Sitting down on the steps outside of the Parthenon, Ralph spit out a stream of tobacco as he waited with his gun leaning against his shoulder. The T-Dolls in his squad were more alert than he was, and they stood at the ready with their weapons primed to go at any time.

Ralph pulled out his phone and checked the clock. "Should be any minute now."

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, a jeep could be seen driving up the path to the Parthenon.

Following WWIII, the Greek government, like most other governments, had become much weaker, disorganized, and decentralized, and so the protection and preservation of historical sites such as the Parthenon had fallen in importance. The government had still managed to station some night patrols around the Parthenon to protect it from vandals or nosy tourists, but they had easily been paid off by Gregorios' men and therefore were not present, allowing Ralph and his T-Dolls to await the arrival of the Americans alone and undisturbed.

"Shall I shoot the driver, sir?" Kar98k asked as she walked up to Ralph, her red eyes focused on the approaching jeep.

"Nah, let them come. We'll stick with the plan and just mow them down as soon as they exit the vehicle," Ralph said.

He wasn't too worried to begin with. As he expected, he and his T-Dolls outnumbered the Americans, and so the Americans wouldn't be able to do much when Ralph's group unexpectedly opened fire. Ralph had thought about concealing his squad and then ambushing the Americans more traditionally, but he figured the enemy might get suspicious if they drove up to the Parthenon and found that there was nobody there. The Parthenon itself also didn't offer much cover, so it would be difficult to hide anyway.

The jeep rolled to a stop in front of the ancient structure, and five figures got out of the car. Three of them were soldiers more or less along the lines of what Ralph expected, and they wore black body armor and helmets and carried M4 carbines with them. The other two, however, were different. The first was a young man with fine black hair and a handsome face, and he wore an expensive-looking white suit. He didn't appear to be armed, and he wore a confident smirk and had his hands in his pockets. Finally, the last was a woman with tan skin and white hair who wielded a shotgun.

"Looks like that girl may be a T-Doll," Ralph said quietly to Kar98k. "Fire at will, but as we discussed beforehand, leave the leader alive. Should be obvious which one that is."

Kar98k nodded, then raised her rifle. Cued by this action, the other T-Dolls followed suit.

The well-dressed young man's cocky expression changed to one of confusion, but the shotgun T-Doll seemed to know what was happening. She stepped in front of the man protectively, but there was nothing she could do at this point. The hail of bullets that came from the guns of Ralph's seven T-Dolls put an end to the lives of the black-clad soldiers, and a flurry of shots hit the enemy T-Doll, sending her to the ground. The suited man held his arms in front of his face as he braced for damage, but no bullets came his way. Slowly, after all the dust had settled, he lowered his arms and glanced apprehensively at Ralph's group.

"W-What is this?" the suited man demanded with a trembling voice. "I thought we had a deal! Y-You're making a terrible mistake by doing this!"

The T-Doll who had been shot clutched at her side, which was now stained red, but she managed to recover her shotgun with her free arm. However, before she could put it to use, a bullet hit her hand, causing her to cry out in pain and drop the weapon.

"Better not," AK-12 cautioned as she let her empty magazine clatter to the ground after firing that shot.

"D-Did she just shoot with her eyes closed?!" the suited man sputtered, panic spreading through his face.

Ralph sighed as he stood up and unsheathed his machete. He personally didn't even need to fire a single shot during the whole affair. With his T-Dolls following closely, he walked up the suited man and the injured T-Doll.

"What's your name?" Ralph asked.

The man spared a quick, fearful glance at the machete. "They didn't tell you?"

"Hurry up and answer," Ralph growled.

"Okay! I'm Major Chittenden of the US Military… Now who are you? You're not with the smugglers, are you?"

"So you're the major?" Ralph raised an eyebrow. "Damn. You look around my age."

"A lot of the officers in the military are young nowadays," Chittenden said, still wary of Ralph's weapon.

"And who might that be? She's cute," Ralph pointed his machete at the T-Doll on the ground, who looked back up at him with hateful eyes.

"M590, a T-Doll. I assume those women with you are the same," Chittenden answered.

"Yep. You really screwed yourself over by coming here with so little security," Ralph gloated.

"Hmph. My deal with those smugglers wasn't exactly legal, so I couldn't bring a lot of people with me," Chittenden said. "But you never answered my question. Who are you?"

"I'm not obligated to answer shit," Ralph replied as he jabbed his machete in the direction of Chittenden, causing the major to flinch. "But I do have some more questions for you. Firstly -"

Ralph and his T-Dolls turned around in surprise as they heard footsteps moving towards their location. They raised their weapons at the intruders, but the T-Dolls quickly frowned in confusion as the newcomers switched on their identifying modules, signifying that they were Grifon T-Dolls.

"Well, we meet again, Commander Ralphie," UMP45 smirked as she led the rest of Squad 404 towards the group.

"Oh? 404," Ralph returned her smirk. "What are you doing here?"

"About that… We were ordered by HQ to take charge of this mission from you," UMP45 explained. "Sorry for the short notice, but I see you've done good work so far, sir."

The SMG T-Doll spoke with an air of confidence and authority that made her seem like the commander as opposed to Ralph, which sort of annoyed him.

"Huuuuuh? I never heard about anything like that," Ralph said, feigning ignorance.

"You remember what we told you back at HQ? 404 is a secret squad, so our missions aren't exactly public knowledge," UMP45 simply replied. "Now, then, we'll be taking charge of those prisoners."

Chittenden, M590, and Ralph's T-Dolls watched the proceedings with a mixture of interest and perplexion, as none of them knew why and how Squad 404 had so suddenly appeared at the Parthenon.

UMP45 took a step towards Chittenden, but she was stopped when Ralph spit a red stream of tobacco right in front of her, barely missing her boot. UMP45 turned to Ralph with a dangerous smile.

"Sorry, but we're going to need to see your authorization before we hand over anyone to you," Ralph grinned devilishly.

"You can contact HQ later and confirm our mission. As for now…"

"Mm, nope. That's not good enough for me," Ralph decided, his grin growing even wider. "How do I know you're not trying to trick me? These prisoners will be staying with me for now."

"Perhaps a bullet will change your mind, sir?" the one with the HK416 assault rifle said to Ralph, annoyed.

"Come on, Commander Ralphie! Don't make this hard," UMP9 smiled at him.

"Why is this taking so long? I wanna go home…" the final, tired-looking member of Squad 404 complained lethargically.

Ralph smirked, unperturbed. "So now you're threatening me, huh? It's clear that you're not operating with G&K at this point. Sorry, but I'll have to ask you to surrender your weapons to us."

"Really? I would like to see you try and take them," UMP45 challenged.

"Do you not see how vastly outnumbered you are here?" Ralph held out his arms and gestured to his seven T-Dolls.

"But they wouldn't fire on other G&K Dolls, would they?" UMP45 countered with a glint in her eye.

"If you're threatening my life and the success of our mission, then sure they would."

As if to prove his point, Ralph's T-Dolls raised their weapons again and aimed them at Squad 404, albeit reluctantly.

 _Excellent,_ Ralph grinned with satisfaction. _If I had told my T-Dolls what Mr. Asterid had told me back in Santorini, then maybe they would have believed what UMP45 is saying. But now that Squad 404 has just come out of nowhere, threatened me, and demanded to take control of the hostages? T-Doll AI won't let them just blindly believe 404 and prioritize them over their commander's orders or the mission directives._

UMP45 glanced warily around as Ralph's T-Dolls kept their barrels trained on Squad 404.

"... You'll regret this," UMP45 finally said. "We'll leave you alone for now. That's the best you're going to get from us."

"Aight, then fuck off," Ralph replied, victorious.

The members of Squad 404 begrudgingly made their exit, with HK416 and UMP45 glaring at Ralph while UMP9 merely giggled to herself and G11 yawned.

"You sure you should be making enemies within your own company?" Chittenden asked with a smirk after 404 had left.

Ralph's response was to slam his elbow into the American major's nose, knocking the man to the ground.

"Sorry, I don't like it when my prisoners talk back to me," he said, smiling cruelly at Chittenden, who was rolling around on the ground and clutching his bleeding nose.

"Sir, I hate to say this, but treating Squad 404 like that probably wasn't wise," DSR-50 cautioned.

"Let me worry about that. You just follow my orders," Ralph simply responded. "All right… Now back to what we were doing before we were so rudely interrupted. It's time to interrogate these fucks."

Ralph lifted Chittenden back up to his feet and slammed the major up against the side of the jeep.

"Tell us where the fucking nukes are," Ralph growled in his ear.

"Where did you take the AR Team!" AR-15 interrupted, jamming her gun in Chittenden's face.

"You know about the nukes?" Chittenden raised an eyebrow, ignoring AR-15 for the moment.

"Yeah. Now, the location," Ralph pressed, brandishing his machete.

Chittenden's eyes betrayed a hint of fear, but he endeavored to maintain his composure. "I don't know. None of us know. The AR Team has it, which is why were hunting for them."

This caused AR-15 to lose her temper. "Where are they!? I asked you a fucking question!"

"I don't know! Jesus!"

"You lie!" AR-15 declared with a snarl, then slammed the butt of her gun against the jeep, inches away from Chittenden's head.

"All right, let's calm down," Ralph pulled AR-15 back by the shoulder. He then turned to Chittenden. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to agree with her; I think you're lying. If you don't tell us their location, then I'm going to flay the skin off your face with this machete."

"W-Wait, I know where _some_ of them are," Chittenden hastily amended. "We've captured the ones by the name of M16 and M4A1. They're at our safehouse.."

"Where?" Ralph pressed.

"Where's Sopmod?" AR-15 then asked. "The final member of the AR Team. Where is she?"

"That's the one we're missing," Chittenden answered. "And it turns out that she also happens to be the one who holds the location of the nuclear weapons, as well as the launch codes. Don't ask me where she is, because we've got no clue."

"Can't you just torture her location out of the two you captured?" Ralph asked, drawing a glare from AR-15.

Chittenden shook his head. "We already tried that. No matter what we did to them, it seems they don't know -"

"If you hurt them, I'll kill you!" AR-15 roared angrily at the major.

"Please stop interrupting," Ralph sighed. "Anyway, Major, we're going to need the exact coordinates of that base as well as the name of it. Also, I'd appreciate a count of how many soldiers, T-Dolls, and armored vehicles you have there."

Chittenden smirked. "Surely you can't expect me to reveal all that."

"Oh?"

Ralph struck with his machete and cleaved off the right hand of the major, causing Chittenden to yell and let out a stream of curses.

"How about now?" Ralph grinned as he leaned in close.

Chittenden was far too busy groaning in pain to answer.

"Great. You ruined it," AR-15 spat bitterly as Chittenden writhed in agony.

Ralph turned to the M590 T-Doll, who was still bleeding on the ground. She flinched a bit as he fixed his hungry gaze on her.

"What about you? You've been there before, right?"

She looked away. "I… I don't -"

Ralph frowned as he kneeled down beside her. "Listen carefully… If you don't answer me, I'm going to penetrate you with this machete, then dismember you like I did to your commander, then gouge out your eyeballs, and then I'm going to throw your corpse off this mountain."

M590 trembled slightly, but she wore a resolute look nonetheless. "... Go to hell, you scum."

Ralph stood back up, then kicked her hard in the side where she had been shot. M590 cried out as she screwed her eyes shut and cringed.

"I think I'm going to enjoy this," Ralph grinned demonically as he watched the T-Doll's face darken with intense pain.

"All right! Holy shit, I'll tell you!"

Ralph was interrupted by Chittenden's shouting from a bit further away. While he was busy with M590, AR-15 had taken Chittenden and held him over the precipice of the mountain they were on, threatening to throw him down and onto the Greek streets, a fall that would undoubtedly kill him.

"Heh. Looks like you got lucky this time," Ralph smirked at M590, who had recovered enough to glare back at him again. The commander laughed and spit tobacco in her face before heading over to AR-15 and Chittenden.

"They're in Bangkok," Chittenden continued, throwing a wary glance at Ralph as he approached.

"Bangkok?!" AR-15 almost dropped the man. "What?! We were just there!"

"That's impossible. We combed the entire Sangvis camp and interrogated their commanders and found nothing," Kar98k said.

"Do I look like a Sangvis, you Nazi bitch?" Chittenden replied, apparently regaining some of his former bravado. "Of course Sangvis Ferri wouldn't know where we took the AR Team."

"Where in Bangkok are they!" AR-15 demanded, shaking the American major.

"Jesus, calm down! They're in an underground warehouse called 'The Cage,'" Chittenden quickly told her. "You can only access it through a secret passageway underneath the temple called 'Wat Arun.'"

"Right underneath our base camp?" WA2000 exclaimed with surprise.

"Damn. We were so close the whole time," AK-12 noted as she shook her head.

"So there you have it," Chittenden said. "Now let me go. That's all I know about it, since I've never been there myself."

"Tell us how many soldiers you have stationed there," Ralph ordered.

"Are you deaf? I just said I don't know any more," Chittenden spat.

"Well, then you're useless now, aren't you?" Ralph grinned. "I think I should chop off your head with this machete."

"W-wait! I have value as a hostage!"

Ralph laughed. "You're pretty desperate not to die. But sure, I guess we can keep you as a hostage for now."

The commander turned to his T-Dolls. "We're taking this fuck and that M590 T-Doll back to Headquarters with us. After a quick stop there, we'll be going straight to Bangkok."

* * *

 **07/26/2024**

 **1200 hours**

 **G &K HQ, Moscow, Russia**

Ralph sat on a soft bench in the hallway in front of one of the entrances to the G&K labs, waiting. After dumping off Chittenden to security, he took the M590 T-Doll with him to the labs and specifically asked for Persica. He then relayed his request to override M590's command structure to Persica, and the engineer told him to come back in an hour after she took the captive Doll inside the labs with her. So now, here he was.

Sure enough, in a few minutes, the doors slid open and Persica emerged.

"The operation was successful. We changed her command protocol without altering her memories," Persica informed him. "Are you sure you want to leave in the part where you threatened to penetrate her with your machete, though?"

"Oh, I forgot about that. Well, whatever. If she has to obey my commands anyway then it shouldn't matter," Ralph decided. "So did anyone ask why there was a new T-Doll in there?"

"Nobody ever asks about what's going in my lab. Probably because they don't want to know," Persica shrugged.

"I see. Any idea when M590 will be back in action?"

"Should be sometime soon. I'll give her a Grifon ID and send her up to your room when she's done," Persica answered.

"All right. Thanks again for the help."

Ralph then left that wing of the base and headed back towards the main area. He didn't exactly know why Persica agreed to help him, but ever since he had come to G&K, she had always been nice to him. It was weird because everyone else always complained about how secretive and unsociable Persica was, so he didn't understand why she made an exception for him. She never gave Ralph any hints either, but judging by the way she acted around him, he thought that she may have known about him even before he came to G&K, which was even stranger because the vast majority of that time had been spent in the African bush. He knew she had some sort of ulterior motive as most people did, but he just couldn't figure out what it was.

 _Well, whatever. I won't look a gift horse in the mouth,_ he settled.

Ralph made a small detour towards the main lobby on the way back to his room. Technically it would be faster to take one of the elevators he passed by to the second floor, but he wasn't in any particular rush and he liked the look of the modern, open-space lobby anyway. When he got there, he observed AK-12 and AN-94 in conversation with a couple of Spetsnaz officers. The fact that there were Russian military personnel around shouldn't be too surprising given that HQ was located in Moscow, but even so, the Russians tended to leave G&K alone. It was rare for Russian officers or soldiers to enter the HQ complex.

The four Russians stopped their conversation when Ralph approached. AK-12 tracked him with her bright violet eyes as he walked by, and he felt like they were definitely talking about something secretive given how abruptly they ceased talking when they saw him… Though he didn't even speak Russian, so it wouldn't matter to begin with.

 _I'm kind of curious now,_ he thought, but something about AK-12's stare made him mind his own business. Besides, if they were discussing it right in the middle of G&K HQ's lobby, it couldn't be that amazing.

Ralph returned to his room and planned to take nap in case they had to fly out tonight. However, when he entered and began taking off his shoes, he found DSR-50 and WA2000 already in there for some reason. WA2000 had taken out his red G&K-issued blazer from his closet and was trying it on.

"Heh. How do I look? I bet I look more like a commander than our shitty one ever did," WA2000 boasted, her eyes closed and a smug smirk on her face, evidently not having realized that Ralph entered the room.

DSR-50 glanced over at Ralph with a worried look, and her silence finally made WA2000 open her eyes and recognize what was wrong.

"Ah!" she cried out, hurriedly taking the blazer off and throwing it on the bed. "What the hell! Why are you sneaking up on us like that!"

"Um, you're in _my_ room," Ralph pointed out. "And why the fuck were you going through my closet?"

Before WA2000 could come up with an answer, a knock sounded on the door. Ralph turned around and opened it, wondering if it was another one of his T-Dolls.

Instead, he was greeted by a pair of cold green eyes.

"I am HK416," the girl greeted. "Do you remember me?"

"Oh, yeah, you're that 404 bitch," Ralph nodded.

416 glared at him. "And you're that fool of a commander who defied us in Greece."

"You're not my boss, so I didn't 'defy' shit. Bye," Ralph replied, moving to close the door.

The silver-haired Doll stopped the door with her fist. "I'd be careful if I were you, sir."

"Is that a threat?"

416 smirked confidently at him. "No. Just some words of advice. Be careful."

She then walked away.

"Tch. Can't believe she came into my own room and threatened me," Ralph shook his head. "And you two just stood there and watched, huh?"

"What did you expect us to do?" WA2000 frowned at him.

"Maybe you should jump her in hallway or something. Rough her up a bit," Ralph suggested.

"Um, sir, Squad 404 are nominally our allies," DSR-50 pointed out in an exasperated tone.

"They sure don't act like it," Ralph sighed.

"Aren't you the one who turned on them first?" WA2000 reminded him.

"Eh," Ralph waved that off as he sat down on his bed. "I'm going to take a nap. You two are free to join me if you want."

"Ew, I'll pass," WA2000 crinkled her nose. "Let's go, DSR."

"Sweet dreams, sir," DSR-50 smiled at Ralph before leaving with WA2000.

 _All right, finally some time to rest,_ Ralph thought in relief as he closed his eyes. _Hm. That 416 cunt really annoyed me, but whatever. I'm sure she's just being a pain in the ass because I humiliated her back in Greece._

But even so, Ralph resolved to be wary of her. She had the eyes of a killer, and even in her regular movements, hints of lethal practice could be seen under the surface. All G&K T-Dolls were built for combat and were excellent soldiers, but it was a whole different thing to have experience in addition to that. By now, Ralph had realized that the whole of Squad 404 were no pushovers, and that he really did need to watch out for them.

Just as he was beginning to drift off to sleep, another knock rapped at the door. With a defeated sigh, Ralph got up and answered it.

"Tactical Doll, Shotgun-class M590, reporting for duty," his newest visitor said with a salute.

Ralph grinned at her. "All repaired now, huh?"

"Yes. All systems have returned to functioning at optimal levels," M590 answered stiffly.

"And you're all right with fighting under my command now?"

"If those are my orders," she said, though she had an uncomfortable look on her face that gave away her true feelings.

"Oh, don't worry, you'll get used to it soon enough," Ralph told her, resisting the urge to laugh at her expression. "Did Persica give you a room to stay in?"

"No, sir."

"Really? Fuck," he scratched his head. "Well… You can stay in my room."

M590's face turned to one of horror.

"Relax, I'm not going to do anything to you," Ralph smirked. "Just rest in here until I can find you a new room, if we even stay here long enough for that to be necessary."

"If you say so, sir." She reluctantly followed him inside the room. "What do you want me to do right now, then?"

"Uh… I'm going to take a nap, so I guess your only orders for now are not to kill me in my sleep," he said. "If you're bored, take a book off the shelf or watch TV or something. Good night."

"But it's the afternoon," M590 muttered as she sat down on the sofa, standing her shotgun up against it.

"Did you say something?"

"... No, sir."

* * *

 **07/27/2024**

 **0500 hours**

 **Bangkok, Thailand**

The T-Dolls and Ralph sat in the holding bay of a G&K helicopter as it descended upon the city of Bangkok at dawn. It was a cloudy day, but there was no precipitation as of yet.

The group was the same as usual, except that OTs-39 had been conscripted by HQ for guard duty again, leaving her unavailable for this mission. However, M590 had come along to replace her, so they were no worse for manpower.

Ralph himself was glad to have taken a nap yesterday because they had to leave HQ at night in order to fly out to Bangkok again. Right now, he was occupying himself by watching Kar98k, who sat across from him. The German sniper was trying in vain to fight off sleep, and her head dipped as her red eyes were slowly dimmed by drowsiness.

"Is she going to be all right for the mission?" WA2000 asked, evidently looking at the same thing he was.

"You T-Dolls need less sleep than humans, so probably?" Ralph guessed. "Maybe she's just not on guard right now since we're still not at our destination yet."

As if hearing their words, Kar98k suddenly snapped her eyes open and sat up straight as a rod.

"I-I wasn't sleeping!" she tried to say when she noticed everyone staring at her.

"You should do what I do and have your eyes closed all the time. That way no one can tell if you decide to take a quick nap," AK-12 advised.

"Sir, can you go over the mission directives one more time?" M590 asked Ralph.

"I guess. Why, you nervous?" Ralph wondered.

M590 blushed. "This is my first mission with Grifon & Kryuger, and I did not go on any intense combat operations with the US Army either…"

"Oh. Well, you'll have fun today, then," Ralph smiled. "But anyway, just to state it again, the mission today is to locate and extract the T-Dolls known as M16 and M4 from the AR Team. First we need to find the Cage, which is the name of the facility where they are being kept, but thanks to our good friend Kinkaid, who is back here now, we do have some idea of where it is. So first we're going to meet up with him and our old pals from the base, and then we will go into more detail about how we're going to assault the Cage. Any questions?"

AR-15 raised her hand. "I want to kill those bastards who are keeping them in captivity myself. Leave them to me."

"That's not a question, but okay."

"I'll make them regret ever messing with the AR Team," AR-15 vowed, clenching one of her fists.

"Mmhm. Anyone else have any insightful comments like that to make?" Ralph asked with a small grin.

"Are snipers really going to be of much use?" DSR-50 asked. "It seems like it is going to be an enclosed space…"

"Hm… I don't actually know the layout of the place, so who knows," Ralph shrugged. "Anyway, you can use a sidearm, right? You're more durable than a regular human, so you'll be useful regardless."

AK-12 leaned slightly outside, getting a good look at the ground as her silver hair swayed in the wind. "It looks like there is a large crowd gathered to greet us. Some combat robots as well."

Ralph took a look too. "Oh, yeah. G&K did increase the budget of this base after we took Bangkok, so that's probably why we have robots here now. I didn't know we were popular enough to draw such a big crowd, though."

"At least we know we have a lot of allies here to help us assault the base," Kar98k said.

The soldiers on the ground made way for the helicopter as it landed in the city. When it finally touched down and Ralph and the T-Dolls exited, they found Commander Kinkaid waiting for them, still wearing his mask and combat fatigues.

"Ralphie. We meet again," Kinkaid greeted.

"Indeed we do. Quite the welcoming party," Ralph noted.

All around Ralph and the T-Dolls were mercenaries from the old Thailand base, along with some new faces who Ralph didn't recognize. There were also some large biped combat robots equipped with big guns near their shoulders awaiting them.

"Yes," Kinkaid nodded. "Though I'm afraid this is no welcoming party."

All the soldiers and robots suddenly aimed their weapons at Ralph and the T-Dolls.

"Wait. What the fuck?" Ralph frowned.

Kinkaid stepped forward. "I told you I knew where the Cage was, and I will show you to it. However, you will be entering as prisoners. Prepare yourselves."


	8. The Cage V

**07/27/2024**

 **0700 hours**

 **G &K FOB, Thailand**

"Ah, it's good to be back," Ralph drawled sarcastically as he sat chained to the metal post of the bed in his old room at the Thailand base.

"... You've been here before?" M590 asked, her golden eyes nervously flitting around the room. Her shotgun had been taken away, and she was chained by her wrist to the same bedpost as Ralph.

"Yeah, me and some of the other Dolls used to be stationed here," he answered. "Nice place, huh?"

M590 glared at him. "Is this any time for jokes? Who knows what these mercenaries are going to do to us now…"

Ralph shrugged. "Well, I worked with them, so I have a pretty good idea. They'll probably kill me, rape you, and then kill you afterwards."

He felt M590 shudder next to him. "A-And you're just accepting that?"

"I'm trying to think of a way out," Ralph frowned, "but… This situation is kind of hopeless…"

M590 moaned in despair. "No… Not like this… Why do I have to die in such a way! At least if I could go out in combat… But no, I have to die after being used by these dirty excuses for soldiers, and _you_ of all people are the one I have for company in my final moments! Why is this happening!"

The white-haired T-Doll desperately tried to yank her wrist free of the chain, but to no avail. Defeated, she sat back down and held her head in her hands, softly sobbing.

Ralph watched her with a neutral expression. _I can't die here either… There's still somewhere I have to go…!_

The Grifon commander tried to survey his surroundings for anything that could be of use. He had spent many days and nights in this room, but it was as bare as ever, with nothing lying around that could help him escape. Still, he couldn't give up now.

 _After all the death I've seen and the deaths I've caused… The only reason I've survived up until now is because I told myself I had to see that city again…_ Ralph grit his teeth in frustration.

He stood up, causing M590 to look up briefly, tears still flowing down her cheeks.

"I'm going to try twisting this chain around the bedpost and then pulling on it," Ralph said. "You're going to help me pull. Either we break the chain, we break the bedpost, or we break. Got it?"

But before M590 could reply, the sound of boots filled the hallway outside, and two men came crashing into the room. One of them was a tall, gangly man with a red beard, and the other was a middle-aged Thai man recruited from the local populace. Ralph recognized their faces but didn't remember their names.

"Who told you to stand up?" the Thai mercenary growled at Ralph, then roughly kicked him back onto the floor.

The red-haired man snickered. "Heh, how's that feel, _Vice-Commander_? Not so high and mighty now, are you?"

Ralph groaned. "Argh… Fuck you. Unchain me and I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget."

"Oh, we'll unchain you, all right. We're going to throw you in that murky alligator-infested lake behind the base," the red-haired one told him with glee.

"Fuck you!" Ralph leapt back up and lunged at the man, but the chain held him back and he stumbled, allowing the Thai merc to kick him back down again.

"Stay down or we'll torture you before we kill you too," he warned Ralph.

The two mercenaries then turned their predatory eyes towards M590, who tried to maintain a look of strength despite herself.

"Heh. Now watch as we fuck the brains out of your precious T-Doll, Vice-Commander," the red-haired man sneered at Ralph as he stepped towards M590.

"S-Stay away from me!" M590 shrieked, lashing out at the man and forcing him backwards.

"Woah, I think she needs a couple smacks first," the red-haired merc chuckled.

The Thai merc nodded. "Yes. But we agreed that I would go first. You'll wait your turn."

"What! When did we agree to that?! Why should I get your sloppy seconds!"

"Don't complain, fool, or I'll throw you to the alligators too."

In response to that, the red-haired merc pulled out his combat knife and took a stab at the Thai merc. His eyes widening in surprise, the Thai merc was nicked by the knife, but managed to push his attacker back nonetheless. The red-haired merc fell on top of Ralph, who took that opportunity to wrap his chain around the man's neck.

"Die! Fucking die!" Ralph grunted as he squeezed the chain tighter around the red-haired merc's neck as the man choked for air.

"Commander, watch out!"

Hearing M590's warning, Ralph looked up and saw the Thai merc pointing a pistol towards him. _Fuck!_

However, before the Thai merc could pull the trigger, the door to the room slammed open again. This time a hail of bullets accompanied it, and the Thai merc fell to the ground, his body pumped full of holes.

AK-12 entered the room, her violet eyes open and glowing as one of the combat automatons they saw earlier stood behind her, the gun on its shoulder smoking.

" _Khorosho_ , so I'm not too late," AK-12 nodded in approval.

"... How'd you even get here?" Ralph asked, stunned. The red-haired merc took his final desperate rattles for breath as Ralph continued to choke him.

"I just borrowed this robot for a bit," AK-12 replied, patting the metal coating of the combat bot behind her.

Ralph blinked. "You can control robots?"

"Yes. Rather than that, I'd like to hear some thanks for saving your life, Commander," AK-12 stated with a smug smile.

"Yeah, thanks, you saved our asses. Now get these chains off, if you will," Ralph ordered, kicking the dead merc away from him.

The combat robot stepped into the room and smashed the chains that held Ralph and M590 constrained to the bedpost.

M590 breathed a sigh of relief as she shakily stood up. "AK-12… Thank you. I'm very grateful."

"You're welcome. You weren't there, but it's about time I made up for my slip up during our first mission," AK-12 said.

Ralph rubbed at his wrist. "Where are the rest of the Dolls? Did Kinkaid take them to the Cage?"

AK-12 shook her head. "No, I had AN-94 lead them outside. They should be putting up a defense against the remainder of this base's troops."

Sure enough, the sound of gunshots could be heard in the background.

"Oh? I see," Ralph nodded. "But still, why did Kinkaid bring us here? Didn't he say he was taking us to the Cage?"

"You would have to ask him yourself, sir," AK-12 answered. "Perhaps we should go and help our allies now?"

"Yeah, let's do it," Ralph agreed as he plucked the pistol from the red-haired merc's holster. "Take the other gun, M590. If I remember correctly from the academy, you shotgun Dolls can still use a handgun, right?"

M590 picked up the Makarov handgun. "Yes, though my combat efficiency isn't as high with this…"

"I think AN-94 found where they were storing our guns, so you'll get your shotgun back soon," AK-12 informed her. "Besides, we have this robot too, so we have the advantage."

Following the sounds of battle, AK-12 and the combat robot took point as they led Ralph and M590 towards the entrance of the base. As they arrived, the sounds of gunfire died off, and they were greeted with the sight of a bunch of corpses lying in various positions around the entrance and main lobby of the base. The trio exited the base and went outside to find AN-94 and the rest of the T-Dolls standing there with their weapons, evidently having defeated all of the base's forces already.

"All hostiles eliminated, AK-12," AN-94 confirmed.

"Yes, good work," AK-12 smiled. "I didn't see their commander among the dead, though. Did he escape?"

ST AR-15 then emerged from the base with her assault rifle in hand and her uniform covered in blood.

"I've finished my interrogation. Kinkaid is at the Cage right now, presumably receiving orders from someone," AR-15 said. She then noticed Ralph. "So you survived, Ralph? Either way, we need to head for the Cage right now. M4 and the others are still being held there!"

"Wait," WA2000 cut in, "shouldn't we try and figure out what's going on here first? Like why our own allies betrayed us? I thought that was the purpose of your interrogation, AR-15."

AR-15 scowled. "That can come later. More importantly -"

"I actually agree with STAR here," Ralph interrupted. "It doesn't matter why we were betrayed, and all I care about now is putting a bullet in Kinkaid's head. I never liked that bastard."

AR-15 nodded enthusiastically. "Then let's stop talking and get moving."

"Hold up," Ralph stopped her. "Do you think you can walk all the way to Bangkok from here? We need to secure a means of transport first. AN-94, WA, and Kar, go search the perimeter for any vehicles. You two snipers have lived on this base, so you know where they usually park the jeeps. M590 and AK-12, go back inside the base and look for a working radio, then bring it back here. We need to let HQ know what happened. The rest of you stay here with me and be on the lookout for anymore hostiles. Make it quick!"

The Dolls went off to complete their duties, and Ralph, AR-15, and DSR-50 stayed behind outside the entrance. As he stooped over to pick up a spare FAL from one of the deceased mercenaries, Ralph watched AR-15 from the corner of his eye. The pink-haired Doll was clearly unhappy that she was standing there doing nothing, but Ralph couldn't risk letting her out of his sight because he was sure that she would do something stupid in her volatile emotional state.

"Ah, I almost forgot. This belongs to you, sir?" DSR-50 plucked a machete off her belt and handed it to Ralph.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," Ralph nodded in appreciation.

A smattering of echoing gunshots then sounded from somewhere within the base, causing Ralph and the two Dolls to look over.

"Looks like they're in battle," AR-15 said, toting her weapon and preparing to move in.

"Let them be. They can handle themselves, and AK-12 has that combat robot too," Ralph stopped her.

"These soldiers were fairly weak anyway. They won't have any trouble," DSR-50 agreed.

Ralph smirked. "Yeah, this base was not really staffed with G&K's finest."

Sure enough, the sounds of bullets stopped, and a few minutes later, AK-12, her robot, and M590 returned with a handheld radio. AK-12 tossed the radio to Ralph, who caught it.

"Oh, this is the radio Kinkaid used to contact command. It still works?" Ralph fiddled with the receiver before it crackled to life. "Nice… Now if I can just remember the frequency…"

WA2000 and AN-94 returned at that time as well.

"There are a couple jeeps out by the checkpoint on the base perimeter," WA2000 said.

"Then why didn't you bring one back? Now we have to walk all the way there," Ralph frowned as he twisted the knob on the radio.

"Uh… We don't know how to drive," WA2000 replied.

"Right, you have to download a special program for that or be taught manually," Ralph sighed, but he perked back up when the radio picked up a signal.

" _Hello? This is Grifon and Kryuger headquarters. Report on your situation."_

Ralph didn't recognize the voice on the other end, so it was probably just some random controller. "This is Commander Ralphie. The base here has turned against G&K, and we need backup."

" _Copy that. Are you personnel at the base?"_

"No. Not anymore, at least. We were sent on the AR Team rescue mission."

" _Roger, hold for a moment."_

Ralph threw up his hands in defeat as he and his squad waited around the radio. A minute or so passed before the operator got back on.

" _Your status has been confirmed, but we have known about the uprising at that base for the past few hours now. Your new orders are to infiltrate the underground holding cell known as the 'Cage' and rescue the members of the AR Team."_

"The fuck are you talking about? Those were our orders the whole time," Ralph shot back. "Like I said, give us some damn backup. There's probably more mercenaries over there, and the Cage is a US facility, so there's probably American soldiers there too. I only have seven T-Dolls with me."

" _Copy that, sending reinforcements when they become available. For now, continue on with the mission."_

The transmission abruptly ended with that, and Ralph was left unsatisfied. He gave the radio a disgusted look before pocketing it.

"All right, nothing we can do now but keep moving. I want revenge on Kinkaid anyway, and STAR is going to lose her mind if we don't reach the Cage soon."

That comment earned him a glare from AR-15, but she was glad to be on the move again. The group made their way over to the vehicles, with AR-15 taking the lead and forcing everyone to follow her fast pace. When they got to the lot, Ralph hopped in the driver's seat and pulled out the key from the glove compartment as the other Dolls all tried to squish together in the remaining seats.

"All right! Time to feed Kinkaid and his goons some lead!" Ralph cheered, hoisting his FAL into the air as he drove out of the lot with one hand, making him feel like he was back in Africa again.

However, as soon as he exited and drove onto the unpaved main road, he realized something.

"Wait. Shit. I don't remember how to get to Bangkok from here," he said as he stopped the car.

"Are you serious?!" AR-15 cried out from the passenger seat as the girls in the back were busy jostling with each other. "Whatever, just follow this road! It's got to lead to Bangkok, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure it splits off at some point," Ralph told her as he nevertheless started driving at his high speed again.

"Then why the hell didn't you -"

Their conversation was interrupted as AK-12 came flying out from the backseat and slammed into the dashboard, surprising Ralph and causing him to veer off the road.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! Did your digimind short-circuit?" he yelled as he shoved her off of him and moved the stick back into its proper gear.

"Urgh. I was trying to hand this to you, but it's so crowded back there that I lost my balance and ended up being pushed forward," AK-12 said as she dropped a piece of paper in Ralph's lap.

AR-15 quickly picked it up. "It's a map! Good thinking, AK-12! All right, Ralph, I'll give you directions. Keep driving."

"Yeah, got it. Don't get us lost, okay?"

* * *

 **07/27/2027**

 **0700 hours**

 **Bangkok, Thailand**

HK416 stepped out of the helicopter and immediately lifted her rifle and looked down its sights, sweeping her gaze across the landing zone as she watched for any potential threats. The three other members of Squad 404 joined her shortly.

"Looks clear for now," 416 said. "The enemy undoubtedly heard us, though. They will be coming."

"Why are we doing this so early in the morning..." G11 whined, rubbing her eyes.

"Can you go one mission without complaining? Learn to do your job like an actual professional," 416 scowled at the sleepy T-Doll.

"45, 416 is being a bitch again," G11 complained.

"You two, we don't have time for your usual bickering," UMP45 chided them. "We need to find the entrance to the Cage and those launch codes as soon as possible."

"It would be nice if we could find the AR Team too, right?" UMP9 added.

UMP45 shrugged as she began leading the group forward, quickly but cautiously. "I guess, but remember that they aren't our primary objective. We'll leave that to our reinforcements."

"Maybe Commander Ralphie can find them," UMP9 suggested as they moved through the cover of buildings. The streets of the city were beginning to get busy now, but the bustle would at least allow for 404 to pass through relatively unnoticed. The only thing they had to worry about was if someone saw their helicopter landing.

"Ralphie? He's likely dead by now," UMP45 dismissed.

"Yeah, you're right… A shame that those other Dolls had to die too," UMP9 sighed.

"It might be expensive, but most of those T-Dolls can be replaced," UMP45 countered. "The real shame is losing AR-15, though sacrifices have to be made."

"Tch. She's too emotionally unstable when it comes to the AR Team anyway. She and the rest of her squad are overrated," 416 said.

45 smiled in amusement. "Maybe you're right."

Slinking through the streets and back alleys, 404 traversed the metropolis until they came upon the area they believed to be the location of the Cage.

"It should be in that abandoned shop over there," UMP45 gestured towards a massage parlor with her submachine gun.

"No sentries?" G11 asked, blinking in confusion at the shop that supposedly housed the entrance to the Cage.

"Not on the outside, at least. That would be too obvious," 45 replied. "Be prepared to encounter resistance once we enter, though."

Stealthily, Squad 404 slunk through the back alleys and snaked back up to the alley right next to the shop. 416, who was taking point, poked her head out from the alley and looked around to make sure that nobody was directly looking in their direction. The streets were getting busier, but most of the city's inhabitants were occupied with their own business, and the blare of car horns and rickshaws combined with the chatter of the populace masked their entry into the shop.

Bringing up the rear, UMP9 shut the door behind them as they entered the relatively dark store. It was completely empty save for some furniture, and judging by the state of the walls and flooring, it didn't seem to be well cared for. They noticed a dark stain on the tiled floor that looked like dried blood, but it didn't seem fresh at all, so they paid it no mind.

"The entrance is somewhere in here. Keep your eyes out for anything suspicious," 45 said in a low voice.

With their weapons up and ready to go at a moment's notice, Squad 404 began combing the area for a trapdoor or any sort of passageway that would allow them access to the Cage.

"Hey! I found something," G11 whispered, causing the other members to flock to her.

G11 slowly opened the door to what appeared to be a harmless closet as the three other Dolls held their weapons ready. The door opened to reveal a staircase that descended down below the shop, and a dim light could be seen down there in the distance.

"This has got to be it, right?" G11 asked.

UMP45 took point. "Yeah. Let's go, and be prepared for a fight. The fact that the entrance was so sloppily concealed probably means that a person or a group of people recently entered. We won't be alone down there."

The atmosphere was tense as Squad 404 descended into the depths below. They silently moved down the staircase and entered into a dark hallway lit only with the occasional flickering light bulb, and the Cage looked to be some sort of underground labyrinth rather than a simple prison. Nevertheless, Squad 404 had been on missions of this type before, and they were prepared for anything. With the trained grace of true professionals, the four T-Dolls advanced as one cohesive unit, each member keeping an eye out in every direction.

Eventually they came upon a fork in the hallway and had to decide to go left or right.

"Well? Should we split up?" 416 asked UMP45.

The SMG T-Doll shook her head. "No. We'll go right first, 9, keep our flank covered."

"Roger!"

As 404 turned the corner, they spotted two men leaning against the wall a few meters away. They had AK-47s with them and were guarding a door, but they did not look like they were paying attention at all to their surroundings.

"G11 get the one on the left. 416, you take the one on the right," UMP45 ordered. "On three. One, two, three."

On cue, the suppressed shots rang out and dropped the two guards immediately.

"Let's go! Open the door and neutralize anyone inside!" 45 then commanded. Though they had been using suppressors, the shots still made a fair bit of noise, and it was possible that the occupants of that room had heard the bodies of their sentries dropping to the ground.

HK416 flung open the door, and UMP45 and UMP9 entered, one of them going towards the right and the other towards the left. G11 advanced through the center, and 416 moved in to back her up. However, Squad 404 quickly realized that the room was empty.

"Huh? Why were they guarding an empty room?" UMP9 scratched her head.

"There's obviously something of importance in here," UMP45 told her sister. "416, drag those bodies into this room so that we're not discovered. Everyone else, search this room for any clues."

Squad 404 tried to figure out what the sentries were guarding, but there was nothing in this dusty, dark room save for some desks and computers that clearly hadn't been turned on in years.

"Eeeeh… There's nothing in here," G11 gave up.

45 scowled in frustration. "That's not possible. Why were they guarding this room?"

The submachine gun T-Doll crossed her arms and squinted as she tried to think of why anyone would guard an empty room. _If there was nothing of value in here, then maybe they had the guards posted outside for a different reason? Maybe they were trying to fool us into thinking there was something in here? And if that's the case, then that means they wanted us to enter this room, which means…_

UMP45 urgently turned to face her teammates. "We need to get out of here immed -"

* * *

"There it is," Ralph announced needlessly as the group came upon Wat Arun. The intricate temple jutted into the sky, and sprawled around its base was the G&K encampment.

Ralph and the T-Dolls were a fair distance away for now, merely observing the encampment. They watched as the G&K mercenaries scurried around and shouted to each other, apparently mobilizing for something.

"Do you think they found out we escaped?" WA2000 asked.

Ralph shook his head. "Probably not, especially since we killed everyone back at the base. I guess it's possible they were waiting for a periodic report from the base and didn't get one and that's why they're scrambling, but knowing these guys, they're not that coordinated. It's probably something else."

"We can find out, can't we?" AK-12 noted, holding up the radio they stole. She twisted the knob until they arrived on the frequency the Thailand G&K mercenaries operated on.

" _...Explosion detected in sector three. Bangkok's police force is mobilizing. Report there immediately."_

"Oh, it's just an explosion," Ralph said. "Convenient for us because these dumbasses are only leaving a token force at the temple, meaning we can sneak into the Cage more easily."

"Where is sector three? And what is the source of the explosion?" Kar98k asked, curious.

Ralph shrugged. "Who cares? It's probably just some of the locals setting off fireworks or something dumb like that. Nothing to do with us."

Some of the T-Dolls didn't look like they believed that, but they nevertheless had to follow their commander's orders. The group waited on the outskirts of the temple complex for a few more minutes as G&K personnel continued to leave the encampment, and when a number of the soldiers had left, Ralph finally gave the order to move in. Ralph and most of the T-Dolls had been here before, so they knew their way around. To their surprise, no sentries have been left behind and so the group easily made it right up to the temple's steps.

"Now what?" WA2000 frowned, staring at the temple. There was no sign of any secret entrance.

Ralph scratched his head. "Yeah… I'm kind of at a loss here. Anyone got any ideas?"

"I've got an idea. Why don't you just die?"

The T-Dolls and Ralph looked up in shock at the source of the new voice. Stepping out of the entrance of the temple was the Sangvis Ferri Doll known as Scarecrow, the very one that they had killed in this city not too long ago.

The T-Dolls all raised their weapons immediately, and Scarecrow's three levitating guns responded in kind, aiming down on the G&K commander. For his part, Ralph merely stood there with an open mouth.

"How the hell are you still alive?" he eventually asked.

"Unlike Grifon trash, Sangvis units can take a severe amount of damage before being scrapped," Scarecrow answered. "And you, Grifon commander, do you not know the basic rules of combat? You should confirm your kill before you exit the battlefield."

"God damn it," Ralph growled in frustration. "Shoot her!"

Upon their commander's order, all the T-Dolls immediately opened up on Scarecrow. However, Scarecrow floated back inside the temple and evaded the shots. With her body concealed inside, Scarecrow sent her levitating guns out and returned fire on the T-Dolls, forcing them to dive for cover.

"Shoot down those guns!" Ralph called out from where he took cover on the right side of the temple.

"They're too small of a target and they're moving too fast!" WA2000 told him.

"Well, fuck! Does anyone have a grenade on them? Lob it inside the temple's entrance!" he then ordered.

A few of the T-Dolls replied back in the negative, saying they had no grenades on them, so that plan went nowhere.

"These things…! Taking cover is useless!" DSR-50 warned as one of the levitating guns just floated over to her position from where she hid behind a stone, forcing her to run away.

Her big gun made it difficult for her to move quickly, and as she tried to run from the gun that had found her, another one of Scarecrow's floating pistols cut her off and fired at her, shooting her in the left kneecap and causing her to collapse.

Ralph tried to cover for her by firing with his FAL in the direction of the floating guns, but as WA2000 has said, he had no chance of hitting them. However, he did manage to get them away from DSR momentarily. AN-94 took advantage of that opportunity to sprint out and drag DSR back into cover.

"We'll be picked off and killed at this rate!" AN-94 cautioned to Ralph.

 _She's right…_ He realized. He would have to come up with something soon. _Wait… If all her weapons are out here, then is she undefended inside the temple?_

"Everyone get out of cover and keep moving in different directions! M590 and AK-12, come with me! We're moving inside!"

Thankfully the T-Dolls carried out the orders without question, and all at once, they sprinted out of cover and spread out in different directions. The three levitating guns seemed confused at the sudden change in the situation, and they hesitated as to who they should go after. In that moment of pause, Ralph, AK-12, and M590 ran up the stairs and into the temple.

The inside of the temple consisted of a mostly empty room with several pillars lining the sides, and each pillar was mounted with a dim white light that ensured that the inside was not completely dark. In the very back of the room was a large, golden statue of a seated buddha, and in front of the statue was Scarecrow, her wild eyes wide as she wondered how her enemies managed to bypass her sentries. As expected, she had nothing to defend herself with.

"You're finished!" Ralph raised his FAL, but before he could shoot, the faint hover of Scarecrow's guns sounded behind him.

 _Shit! She ordered her guns to return back to her and come up on our rear?_

"It's useless," AK-12 said confidently as she aimed her weapon at the three levitating guns and shot them all down easily. "It was obvious that you were going to call your guns back to defend you, and unlike outside the temple, I could easily predict that they would come through this doorway and so I could aim and shoot them down properly."

Ralph nodded in appreciation. "Yeah, nice!"

Scarecrow stood in shock for a brief moment, then lunged at Ralph, stretching her hand towards him. M590 stepped in front of her commander and blasted Scarecrow with her shotgun, stopping the Sangvis Doll dead in her tracks and knocking her to the ground. After pumping her shotgun, M590 fired another shot at the downed Scarecrow, splattering her artificial blood all over the temple floor and practically smashing open her torso.

"Oho? What was that about Sangvis Dolls being durable?" Ralph gloated gleefully as Scarecrow's dying form twitched on the floor. "But just to make sure…"

Pointing his FAL at Scarecrow's head, Ralph fired repeatedly until he ran out of ammo, turning Scarecrow's skull into a pile of bolts and blood and making the room ring with the lingering sounds from the rifle.

The rest of the T-Dolls then entered, with WA2000 and Kar98k each lending DSR a shoulder so that she could walk.

"So she's dead for good this time?" Kar98k surmised, glancing at Scarecrow's mangled body.

"Looks like it. Unfortunately we've made quite a mess of the temple floor," AK-12 answered.

"Her core is smashed to bits," M590 added, gesturing with the barrel of her shotgun towards the Scarecrow's bloody chest cavity.

Ralph, meanwhile, was looking around the room. "This must be the entrance to the Cage. There's no other reason why Scarecrow would be guarding this place, and why we didn't notice her earlier."

"Yes. It seems around the statue would be the most obvious place to put the passageway," AN-94 said.

"Right… But before we move out…" Ralph turned to look at DSR. "It seems our friend here can no longer go on."

"Oh? Are you going to suggest abandoning a comrade again, sir?" AK-12 asked with a sly smile.

DSR sighed. "Ah, I've lived out my usefulness, have I?"

"No way! We're not leaving her behind!" WA2000 shrieked.

"Shut the fuck up!" Ralph snapped. "I never said anything about that, did I? Unlike last time, which it seems AK-12 is actually still sore about, we're in no immediate danger right now and there's no reason to leave her behind. We can probably medevac her."

ST AR-15 stepped forward. "This is a time-sensitive mission, Ralph. We can't sit around here waiting for Grifon to send a helicopter from their closest base, which isn't near here at all."

"Excuse me, but do not forget that we are risking our lives to rescue your squad, and that DSR was injured for the sake of your mission," Kar98k frowned at the American assault rifle.

"And I appreciate her sacrifice, but we have to think logically here," AR-15 replied coolly.

"That's rich, coming from you. How many emotional outbursts have you had since we started this mission?" Ralph smirked at AR-15. "Anyway, there is a solution to this. WA, you're staying behind with DSR. Call for a medevac from G&K."

"Y-You're making me stay behind?" WA2000 asked.

"Yeah. Inside the Cage we're likely going to be involved in a lot of CQB scenarios, so you're not all that useful for that if you're just using a handgun," he explained. "Take this radio and call G&K for a medevac, then leave the city along with DSR. Make sure Sangvis or the traitors in the city don't spot you."

"I'm sorry… To go through all this trouble because of me," DSR sighed again.

"If you're sorry, then don't get hit next time," Ralph brushed her off with a shrug. "Now, the rest of you, let's get moving."

As WA2000 and DSR left the temple, Ralph and the remaining T-Dolls moved towards the buddha statue. Sure enough, at the base of the statue was a poorly-concealed staircase that led down below. In her haste to ambush Ralph and his squad, Scarecrow must have left the passageway relatively open.

With her thicker skin and armor, M590 took point, leading Ralph and the other girls down into the Cage. The entered into a dimly-lit hallway, and the whole place seemed to be some sort of underground maze.

"Try not to make too much noise," Ralph cautioned in a low voice as they walked forwards. "It's likely that this place is infested with Sangvis Dolls, maybe some American forces as well. Either way, our first order of business is to capture one of them and extract the location of the AR Team from them. Oh, wait, M590, do you know your way around?"

"No, sir. I've only been here once before and that was only for a short time, and I was inactivated on the way in and the way out," the shotgun Doll told him.

"I see. Hey, you should have told me that back in Greece. Maybe I wouldn't have kicked you," Ralph grinned.

M590 glanced warily at him. "I think you would have done that anyway…"

"Haha! We've only been together for a short time, and yet you know me so well."

The group continued on in silence for another minute.

"Mm… It's quite dark in here," Kar98k complained.

"Plus there isn't much room to take cover since it is mostly made up of empty hallways," M590 added. "It doesn't seem like it will be pleasant to fight in here…"

"Well, we'll likely have no choice," Ralph said. "I've fought in cramped alleyways and houses a lot, and yeah it's not pleasant."

"Are you sure that it was okay to send those two out on their own?" AR-15 changed the subject.

"You're _still_ on about that?" Ralph groaned.

"It's not that. I'm just surprised you let them go off on their own in hostile territory," AR-15 clarified.

"What was I supposed to do? It was either that or leave her to die," Ralph shrugged.

"I thought you would be the type to do the latter, actually," AR-15 replied wryly.

Ralph raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh, don't you remember when I saved your ass in South America?"

"You were just one member of that squad, and that mission directive was specifically issued by G&K. You didn't do it out of the goodness of your heart," AR-15 countered.

"You two know each other from somewhere?" Kar98k asked, curious.

"Yeah, my very first mission as a new commander was to save STAR's ass when she was captured by terrorists in Brazil," Ralph answered. "I wasn't exactly commanding anyone, though. Like she said, I was just a member of a squad sent to rescue her. The rest of the AR Team was also there."

"So you've met the AR Team before?" AK-12 questioned.

He shook his head. "No, the AR Team actually dropped in a different location than our squad did, and they did most of the hard work by distracting the terrorists. Our squad met relatively little resistance as we infiltrated their compound to rescue STAR, though I did end up being the only one out of my squad to survive."

"Luck must have been on your side that day," AK-12 commented after hearing that.

"Call it what you want. Jungle fighting and urban warfare are my specialties, so I know how to survive in those environments," Ralph said. "Those other guys seemed to have known each other for a while, and were always trying to help each other out, refusing to abandon each other when one of them got injured. But I was new to the squad and only a temporary member at that, so I had no stake in their little group. That was the difference between us, and that was the reason why I survived while they didn't."

"So is that why you're so eager to leave your comrades behind even now?" AN-94 asked.

"Eh… It's just how I was raised to fight. Where I grew up, the only thing my 'comrades' cared about was taking the objective so they could get their next drug fix, find the next woman they could rape, or the next house they could loot from. Our commanders ruled through fear and had no intention of fostering any sense of camaraderie between their soldiers."

AR-15 scoffed at that. "No wonder the Congolese Armed Committee was wiped out so easily by G&K's forces. You can't win battles fighting like that."

"Maybe, maybe not. Don't forget that G&K's soldiers and Dolls were much better trained and better armed than we were," Ralph pointed out.

"Um… Pardon the interruption, but where exactly were you raised, sir? That doesn't sound like a very nice place to grow up," M590 asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I didn't tell any of you. I was born in America, but I grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when WWIII broke out," Ralph explained. "It's a long story, and this isn't the place to say much more than that."

"Ah… So that explains why you are like that…" M590 muttered.

"Either way, you're now a G&K commander, Ralph, so you should try and forget what the African militia taught you. Surely you learned new tactics and training from the commander course?" AR-15 brought up.

"I mean, yeah. But some things aren't that easy to forget," Ralph simply said.

"I suppose you can't truly change a soul blackened by blood and terror," AK-12 poetically noted. "Have you read the Soviet novel _Heart of a Dog_ , Commander?"

"Hmph. Maybe you're right. Maybe I am nothing more than a rabid African dog stuffed into a nice uniform," Ralph admitted. "But still… If there is any light left in my heart, I want to know. That's why I have to get back to that place…"

"What place?" M590 asked innocently.

AR-15 glanced at Ralph. _His obsession with getting into America… It's undoubtedly got something to do with this…_

"Nah, it's nothing," Ralph waved her off. "I'm just talking nonsense to kill time. What we should really be doing right now is keeping a lookout for anything suspicious. We've been walking for far too long without encountering anyone."

As if on cue, the sound of running footsteps could be heard from around the corner. The T-Dolls raised their weapons in anticipation.

Ralph grinned as he raised his FAL. "About time…!"


	9. The Cage VI

**07/27/2025**

 **1100 hours**

 **Bangkok, Thailand**

WA2000 grunted as she set DSR down on a bench by the Chao Phraya River, panting as she too took a moment to rest.

"You're… You're pretty heavy," WA2000 noted between breaths.

"My, how rude," DSR replied with a frown as she adjusted the makeshift bandage on her knee, which had nearly been blown apart. "But I suppose I can't complain much since you did carry me all the way here…"

The two snipers spoke to each other in German as they waited for their exfil on the banks of the river. G&K had approved their request for medevac, and they also said that they were sending more reinforcements to put down the rebellion. However, as ST AR-15 had observed, the nearest G&K base was pretty far away, so the helicopter would not be arriving for a while unless it had already been mobilized earlier. WA2000 chose this location by the river to wait since it was out of the way of the main streets, and from her previous knowledge of this area, it didn't seem like the mercenaries at the Bangkok base patrolled here that often.

Nevertheless, she still had her rifle ready in her arms in case they ran into any trouble. DSR also had her own sniper rifle strapped to her back, taking it for the extra firepower even though it made it harder to carry her.

"Nothing to do but wait, huh…" WA2000 trailed off.

"Yes. Are you worried about the other Dolls?" DSR asked.

WA2000's eyes watched the muddy river flow through the center of the city. "A little bit, I guess. I just don't like leaving them in the hands of that commander."

"So you still don't like him?"

"Of course not! How can I?" WA2000 glanced at DSR. "What about you? You're always acting so casual with everyone that I can't tell your true feelings. What do you think about the Commander?"

"Hm… Does it really matter?" DSR asked with a strange smile. "We are expendable Dolls meant to carry out our orders, no matter what they may be. Whether we like our commander or not is irrelevant."

"Hmph. Well, you're the one who asked first," WA2000 pouted.

DSR chuckled. "He's not too bad, aside from his rude disposition. At least he seems competent on the battlefield."

"Yeah, I guess," WA2000 replied, but her eyes still held worry in them. "Even so… I can't help but feel like we're going to get into something really dangerous if we keep hanging around him. Sometimes it feels like he's just too loose about things, and I don't know, I just can't see him as a hero or anything like that…"

"A hero? Do such people really exist anymore?" DSR asked, amused.

WA2000 blushed. "W-Well, I -"

Both Dolls quickly cut off their conversation as they noticed new signatures approaching. By the look of them on the sensors, they appeared to be allies, and when WA2000 saw them in the distance and aimed her scope at them to get a better view, her eyes widened in surprise.

"It's Squad 404!" she told DSR.

"404? What are they doing here?" DSR was confused. She narrowed her eyes and tried to see them in the distance. "It's the UMP9 Doll and the G11… They appear to be carrying something on their backs…"

The 404 Dolls had clearly noticed WA2000 and DSR by now, but they made no hostile actions towards them.

 _The last time we met we were pointing guns at each other… Hopefully they don't hold a grudge,_ WA2000 recalled.

As UMP9 and G11 got closer, WA2000 and DSR could see that they were not in the best of shape. Both UMP9 and G11 had their clothes torn in various spots, and there were burn and scorch marks all over their bodies. UMP9's right arm had been blown completely off, and G11 was trailing blood as she walked. UMP9 struggled to carry the burnt and blackened body of what appeared to be UMP45 on her back, and G11 was panting heavily as she also carried a heavily-damaged HK416.

"Oh, hello! It's you two," UMP9 gave them a cheery smile as she greeted them in German in spite of her injuries.

"Hello," WA2000 returned unsurely. "What happened to you?"

UMP9 chuckled sheepishly as she and G11 came to a stop beside the snipers. "We were kind of caught in an explosion…"

 _Was that the explosion we heard about earlier?_ "An explosion? What are you even doing here?"

"Oh, uh, we were sent to give to some backup. We tried to find the entrance to the Cage but it seems like we got some faulty info and ended up in a trap," UMP9 said.

WA2000 did not fully believe that story, and she glanced at DSR, who was also warily regarding the 404 Dolls.

"I take it the other members of your squad didn't survive the explosion?" DSR asked as she gestured towards the charred bodies.

G11 sighed as she collapsed in exhaustion, unceremoniously dropping 416's corpse. "Yeah… 416 and 45 were the closest to bomb. The bomb was actually inside the walls and caused a structural collapse of most of the place, but luckily most of the explosion was also absorbed by the walls themselves… Still, I'm surprised you two managed to escape the militia here. I thought for sure you and your commander were dead."

"We managed to escape somehow," WA2000 replied. "But how did you know about that? Did HQ tell you?"

"Yes, HQ told us that the base here erupted in rebellion right before you guys got here," UMP9 hurriedly said with a nervous smile.

DSR narrowed her eyes at the SMG Doll. "Right… And you two aren't angry at us for almost attacking you back in Athens?"

UMP9 shook her head. "Of course not! It was under orders from your commander, right? No hard feelings!"

"Uuuu… I wanna go home," G11 complained from where she lay spread-eagled on the ground.

"Just hold on, we're waiting for the medevac," UMP9 assured her, then turned back to WA2000 and DSR. "So I guess you two called for the helicopter? That must be why HQ sent us over here when we requested exfil."

"Yes, DSR was shot in the knee and couldn't continue on," WA2000 said. "The rest of our squad is inside the Cage right now."

UMP9 looked perplexed, as if she was trying to figure out some sort of difficult problem.

"Is something wrong?" WA2000 wondered. She could clearly see that UMP9 was hiding something, and she wanted to figure out what it was.

UMP9 glanced at her. "Oh, no, it's nothing."

"Who was the contact you received your information from?" DSR then asked. "You said they led you into a trap, right? Why not just have you fall into the same trap we fell into instead of setting up another one specifically for you?"

"What do you mean?" UMP9 asked, a bit defensively.

"The enemy was waiting for us when we arrived here," DSR continued. "Why did you land somewhere else instead of where we were dropped off? Shouldn't we all have been deployed together since we landed at the G&K base here? It's almost as if you knew there would be an ambush at the base, and so you chose to land somewhere else."

"What? No," UMP9 denied. "We just got lucky by landing somewhere else…"

"Wait… Didn't you say earlier that HQ told you that there was a rebellion here?" WA2000 pointed out. "So now you're saying that you _didn't_ know that the Bangkok base had revolted and that you just got lucky by landing somewhere else?"

G11 sighed deeply as she listened to the conversation from her position on the ground. "I knew this would happen… I want to go home…"

"Yeah, I meant that we landed first and then were told by HQ a few minutes later," UMP9 quickly explained.

WA2000 and DSR-50 went silent, both of them staring intently at UMP9, who looked uncomfortable at the scrutiny.

Suddenly, G11 perked up and got to her feet. "Hey! It's the helicopter!"

Sure enough, there was a speck barely visible in the distance that looked somewhat like a helicopter.

"Wow, they sure got here fast!" UMP9 was glad to change the subject.

"Something's not right here," WA2000 whispered to DSR.

"Yes, I agree. But for now, we will have to wait…"

* * *

"Oh, my. What have we here?"

A black-clad Sangvis Doll greeted Ralph and his squad as she stepped out from around the corner. She had long, dark hair, pale skin, sickly yellow eyes, and she carried in her arms some sort of long railgun-like weapon.

Ralph wasted no time in returning her hello and instead just squeezed off as many shots from his FAL as he could at her. The first couple bullets hit her but merely created small dents in her skin, and the Sangvis Doll ducked back behind the corner.

"Hehe… That was quite rude of you," the Sangvis said from behind cover.

"Shut the fuck up and come out so I can kill you, Sangvis bitch!" Ralph shouted back.

" _Gut_ , now all this noise is going to attract even more enemies," Kar98k sighed.

AK-12 placed a hand on Ralph's shoulder. "Commander, this isn't an ordinary Sangvis Doll. Your bullets did not penetrate her armor well, and judging by my analytics, she appears to have the processing power of a Boss-class Doll like that Scarecrow."

"We should proceed with caution," AN-94 nodded.

"I can hear you, you know," the Sangvis Doll said. "By the way… My name is Dreamer. Do you want to know why they call me that?"

"Shut the fuck up!" Ralph answered her, then turned back to AK-12. "So, do you have some sort of plan? How do we kill her?"

AK-12 gave him a mysterious smile. "You're the commander, that is your job."

Before Ralph could think of anything, Dreamer stepped out from behind the corner again. The T-Dolls quickly lifted their weapons, as did Dreamer. To everyone's surprise, a large laser shot out from Dreamer's weapon instead of regular bullets.

M590 jumped in front of Ralph and AK-12, who were directly in the laser's path. She turned her profile to Dreamer, allowing the armor attached to her waist to take the brunt of the attack. However, the laser managed to pierce through the armor, sending pieces of it flying like shrapnel and then slamming into M590, who in turn knocked over Ralph as she was sent backwards.

The two of them fell to the ground as the rest of the T-Dolls began firing at Dreamer, forcing her behind the corner again. Ralph was about to shove M590 off of him, but he hesitated when she moaned in pain and he saw that her shirt was ripped on her side and that her skin had been severely burnt by the laser.

 _Well, she did jump in front of me even after everything I've said to her,_ Ralph sighed as he wrapped an arm around M590 and lifted her to her feet.

The shotgun T-Doll hissed in pain and screwed her eyes shut as she clung to Ralph, who sloppily popped a few shots off with one hand when Dreamer poked her head around the corner.

 _Damn! Why is no one here equipped with grenades?_ Ralph cursed their lack of preparation.

"Commander… I can still fight…" M590 muttered in his ear, though her voice was so faint that he barely heard it through all the shooting. She weakly clutched her shotgun in her left hand as her right arm was slung around Ralph's shoulders.

"She looks like she's about to expire," AK-12 noted unhelpfully, her eyes closed as usual, still wearing that situationally-inappropriate smile.

"Yeah, I can see that!" Ralph grunted as he tried to control the recoil of his gun with only one hand. Dreamer had stuck her weapon back around the corner and fired off a few inaccurate shots, shooting regular bullets now instead of lasers.

 _If we stay here, we will die. Dreamer can easily just stay behind that corner, and it's possible that enemy reinforcements will flank us from behind,_ Ralph realized.

"All units, move forward! Rush her position!" he ordered, swinging his FAL in the direction of Dreamer.

Kar98k took her eyes away from her sights for a brief moment. "W-What? You're telling us to charge at her?"

"Yes! Now fucking do it!" Ralph yelled again, unable to move very quickly himself since he was still carrying M590.

Luckily AR-15 followed his orders, baring her canines and eagerly sprinting around the corner. AK-12 and AN-94 were close behind her, and Kar98k reluctantly followed as well.

 _Dreamer is carrying around that unwieldy weapon, so she is bound to have trouble in CQC with her limited mobility,_ Ralph figured as he slowly moved forward with M590.

When he turned the corner, he saw Dreamer actually looking a bit rattled now. She was obviously struggling to fend off four T-Dolls attacking her at the same time, and as she swung her railgun around to try and hit AR-15, AN-94 smashed the butt of her rifle on top of Dreamer's head. AK-12 had also managed to grab Dreamer's left hand and jerked her backwards, then hitting the Sangvis Doll with a knee to the chin. Kar98k stood a few meters away from the brawl, using her sniper skills to take aim and preparing to fire at Dreamer when she got a clean shot.

"Where is the AR Team!" AR-15 demanded, throwing her weapon to the ground as she lunged at Dreamer.

Dreamer managed to push away AN-94 and force AK-12 to step back when she swung her railgun at the T-Doll, but that allowed AR-15 to jump on top of her. Dreamer dropped her weapon in surprise as AR-15 wrapped her hands around Dreamer's neck, trying to choke the life out of the Sangvis Doll. However, Dreamer just kicked AR-15 off of her. Even if Dreamer was being overwhelmed with numbers, her armor and strength still seemed to be far above that of a regular T-Doll's.

But before Dreamer could get to her feet, Kar98k fired a shot that hit her straight in the skull, disorienting her. AK-12 and AN-94 took that opportunity to completely unload their clips into Dreamer, their shots almost deafening Ralph as he watched them fire everything they had into the Sangvis Doll.

When they finally stopped shooting and began to reload, Dreamer lay still on the tiled floor, black liquid seeping out of her as the hallway and everyone's eardrums rang in the aftermath of the gunfire.

"Fuck… Is she dead?" Ralph asked, his head aching a bit now.

Dreamer twitched on the ground as if to answer his question.

"We have probably just stunned her as she recalibrates. We will need to do much more damage before she is killed for good," AK-12 said.

The sound of running footsteps were then heard echoing through the halls, originating from the direction behind them.

"Unsurprisingly, they've found us," Kar98k frowned.

"Let's get moving," Ralph nodded. He tossed his FAL and picked up M590 in a princess carry, causing her to groan in pain at the sudden movement. Her shotgun clattered to the ground as she finally let go of it.

"Oh? Why didn't I get this type of treatment when I got injured?" AK-12 asked Ralph with an amused smile as the group ran through the passageways and away from the incapacitated Dreamer.

"You're still on about that? M590 took that laser beam head on, so I guess I should probably try and keep her alive. I'm not doing much else anyway," Ralph decided, struggling to keep up with the T-Dolls as they ran.

"Hmm? Despite what you said earlier, perhaps you really have had a change of heart, Commander."

"Heh. You don't know who you're talking to," Ralph smirked.

AR-15, who was leading the group, came to a sudden stop. "There's a stairwell down here!"

"There's a lower level?" Ralph said, glad to have a rest as he shifted M590 in his arms. "Let's go, I guess."

AR-15 led the group down the stairs. When they all descended the staircase, they looked around and found that it seemed to be a maze-like structure just like the upstairs level, but this time, there were prison cells that lined the walls.

"So this is where 'The Cage' gets its name," Ralph observed.

"M16 and M4 must be down here," AR-15 gripped her rifle tightly.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not," a familiar voice said as a figure stepped out from the corner at the far end of the hallway.

The figure was a large man dressed in all black and decked out in full body armor, and he was carrying what appeared to be some sort of shotgun in his hands. A dark ski mask obscured his face, but it was obvious who he was to Ralph and the girls who had been at the Thailand base.

"Kinkaid. Decided to finally come out of your hole, I see," Ralph smirked at him while the T-Dolls raised their weapons.

"Yes, Vice-Commander Ralphie. I have," he said as he walked forward, unperturbed by the guns pointed at him. "In fact, I have awakened."

"The fuck are you talking about? You're lucky I'm holding this girl, or else I would have shot you in the head already," Ralph frowned.

Kinkaid stopped. "We both know that is not true, or else you would have ordered your soldiers to fire. Are you not interested in what I have to say? Why the Americans and Sangvis Ferri are working together? Why I have risen up against our employer?"

"If you're going to tell me, then hurry up and do it," Ralph replied, though it was obvious that he was indeed interested.

Kinkaid turned his eyes towards the T-Dolls. "I see you have received some new soldiers in your squad. Either way, I must apologize for my aloofness towards them when we first met. I was foolish to dismiss them as simple tools."

That caught Ralph off-guard. "Wait, what?"

"It is simple. Though they are robots, they are far superior to humans," Kinkaid said. "Take the average mercenary at the base here. All he cares about is primal matters, such as food, drink, sleep, and sexual gratification. In fact, I quite easily got them all to join my uprising just by promising them that they would get all that and more if they betrayed Grifon and Kryuger. Humans are a base, vulgar species, and incredibly easy to manipulate."

Ralph was thoroughly confused now. _What the fuck is this guy talking about? And T-Dolls are pretty human-like anyway…_

"What the world needs is a solid, unfeeling authority to instill order," Kinkaid continued. "An iron fist that will rid this post-apocalyptic society of the tumors that have been allowed to fester. Humans… Humans only proliferate those tumors. They must be subjugated as well."

"You're talking like you aren't a human," Ralph said. "And you still haven't told me shit about why you rebelled."

"Perhaps I am no longer human," Kinkaid replied. "And I have told you why. Sangvis Ferri possesses the ability to guide this world in the way that it must be guided. Their organization is free from human influence."

 _It's clear that he's lost his mind,_ Ralph decided. "And what about the Americans? Why are they here?"

"They are attempting to help Sangvis Ferri recover the nuclear codes, most likely thinking that they can somehow steal them away and keep the codes for themselves," Kinkaid said with disdain. "They are fools just like you, but as they are allies for the moment, I cannot kill them. They will get what they deserve in due time, however."

"All right, enough! Where are M4 and M16!" AR-15 demanded.

Kinkaid responded by raising his shotgun with inhuman speed and blasting AR-15 away. It was so sudden and fast that no one could react to it until it was too late, but the remaining Dolls started shooting immediately afterwards. However, to everyone's shock, the bullets did not reach Kinkaid. Instead, they stopped just short of him, falling to the ground with a series of clatters before they could pierce his body.

Ralph simply stood there with his jaw hanging open. _What the fuck?_

"He is employing some sort of anti-projectile technology," AK-12 informed the group, her violet eyes finally open and glowing.

"Tactical Dolls. Repent and give your command prompts over to Sangvis Ferri. This is your first and only chance," Kinkaid announced.

Ralph dumped M590 onto the ground and ripped his machete free from his belt. With the ferocity of a leopard leaping for its prey, he lunged at Kinkaid, his right arm raised and ready to bring the machete slicing down onto his former commander's head. As he predicted, the anti-projectile shield did not activate. The machete slammed down onto Kinkaid's skull, clanging off of it.

 _What?!_ Ralph was stunned as he lost his balance at his failed attack.

Before he could fall, Kinkaid grabbed him by the collar. "It is useless. I told you, I am no longer human."

Without realizing it, Ralph found himself flying through the air, sent in the opposite direction from his squad and the staircase. He smashed through the drywall, which was luckily decaying, making it much softer. He then smashed through another layer of wall before hitting the ground with a thud. His machete fell from his grip and clattered onto the floor.

"Fuck… My back…" he groaned in pain as he tried to regain his bearings.

His vision was blurred and his head was spinning, but he managed to gather that he was in a very dimly-lit room and that there was someone in there with him. Though it hurt to even move, he clenched his teeth through the pain and stood up.

In front of him was a woman who was chained to the ceiling with handcuffs around her wrists. Her clothing was torn and her long, black hair was coming loose from the braid she wore, and she looked bloodied and beaten as well. There was an eyepatch over her right eye, and she struggled to turn herself so that she could see what had happened with her good eye.

"Who… Who are you?" Ralph asked, still trying to fight through the pain.

"I should be asking you that," the girl responded. Her voice was relatively deep, though there was a raspy edge to it that made it sound like there was something wrong with her throat. "That was quite an entrance you made."

"Yeah, some fucker threw me through the wall," Ralph growled. "You're M16, right? You look kind of different from the pictures I've seen, but the eyepatch and the scars are the same."

"That's me, yeah," M16 confirmed. "Who are you? You never answered."

"My name is Ralphie. I'm the G&K commander sent to rescue you," he told her.

"Ah, about time… Have you found M4?"

Ralph tried to avoid cringing at the intense shooting pain in his back. "No, and I only found you because I was thrown in here. It's not exactly easy to move around in this place without getting shot up."

"You have to find M4, sir," M16 said urgently.

"What I have to do is put a fucking bullet in Kinkaid's metallic skull," Ralph spat, the pain now making him angry. "Anway, I'm already here, so I might as well unchain you first. You happen to know where the key is?"

"I don't. I was hoping you would know that stuff," M16 replied, not looking enthused.

"Then this will have to do," he said, picking up his machete. "Try to stay still."

Grabbing the chains with one hand, Ralph used his other to try cutting through it with the machete. This forced him to come into close contact with M16, and her body was pressed against his.

 _God, she smells terrible. How long have they held her down here?_ Ralph wondered as he managed to cut through the links, though having to use that much strength just made his back pain even worse.

When the chains were finally released, M16 unceremoniously fell to the floor. She slowly picked herself up, but it looked like she was having trouble standing. Ralph offered her a hand, which she gratefully took, though pulling her off her feet also caused him pain, unsurprisingly.

"Thanks, sir," she managed. "You all right? You look like you're about to pass out yourself."

"I'm… Fine," came his strained reply.

"If you say so," M16 looked at him worriedly, but quickly hardened her expression. "Anyway, we need to find M4 now. She should be somewhere nearby."

"No, my squad is still fighting back there. We have to go back," Ralph said. "We can look for M4 after we've killed all the enemies here. Then STAR can finally stop her bitching…"

M16 perked up at that. "STAR is here too?"

"Yeah, but she's not in the best of shape right now," Ralph said, remembering how she had taken that shotgun blast to the chest. "I'm going back there. STAR came all the way here to rescue you, so it's the least you could do as well."

M16 still looked slightly reluctant, but she nevertheless followed Ralph as he stepped through the holes in the walls. Strangely enough, the sounds of gunfire had stopped.

When Ralph got back to the initial corridor, he found out why. Kinkaid was nowhere to be seen, as were AK-12 and AN-94. AR-15 was lying on the ground, her chest completely shattered and a pool of blood around her, and Kar98k was in a similar situation, her corpse face down on the dirty floor. M590 was in the same position Ralph left her, motionless and lying on the ground.

"Oh, shit," M16 cursed, running over to AR-15's body. She bent down, inspecting the fatal blow that Kinkaid had given her.

"She's dead. Leave her," Ralph told M16 as he brought his hand to M590's neck, trying to feel if she still had a pulse.

"Nah, there's no way I'm doing that," M16 refused. She tried to pick AR-15 up, but she was clearly struggling.

Ralph watched her with a blank look. "You can barely stand yourself. You're in no shape to carry around someone else."

M16 turned to him with a serious look in her eye. "You said it yourself; she came all this way for me. You're out of your mind if you think I'm leaving her here, sir."

"We'll come back for her, all right? We have more pressing issues to attend to right now," Ralph said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "The piece of shit who did that to her is still on the loose somewhere. We need to track him down and punish him."

M16 looked reluctant, but she evidently recognized the practicality in his words and nodded. She picked up AR-15's dropped weapon.

"We'll come back for her, then," M16 repeated, then held up the assault rifle. "Do you want this or should I take it?"

"You T-Dolls have better aim than I do. Besides, I've got this already," Ralph raised his machete. "Let's get moving. Two of my T-Dolls should be around here somewhere, probably wherever that bastard is…"

Ralph and M16 went back up the steps with the T-Doll taking point. In the distance, they could now hear the sound of gunfire coming from multiple sources, though given how injured the both of them were, they were not moving very quickly.

As they approached the source of the fighting, they turned a corner and M16 slammed right into something. In her weakened state, she fell immediately to the ground, but the collision had momentarily stunned the black-haired figure she crashed into: Dreamer.

"Fuck youuuuu!" Ralph cried out as he leapt at the Sangvis Doll, landing on top of her and smashing the blade of his machete into her face with as much force as his damaged body could muster.

M16 scrambled to her feet and aimed her AR-15 at Dreamer. "Move, sir!"

Ralph complied, allowing M16 to fire off a quick burst of five shots into Dreamer's face. Black liquid stained the ground behind Dreamer's head, and the Sangvis Doll's face was thoroughly smashed in, her outer coating gone and revealing a metallic skull underneath her normally beautiful face.

"Fuckin' got her," Ralph grinned as he panted.

In response to that, Dreamer immediately sat upright, her metal face and glowing yellow eyes staring straight at Ralph.

"What the fuck!" M16 uttered in surprise as she dumped the rest of the AR-15's clip into Dreamer's head.

Now Dreamer went down again, and Ralph groaned at the ringing in his ears for the second time today as M16 reloaded using one of the magazines she picked off of ST AR-15. However, even through the ringing in their ears, M16 and Ralph could hear the sound of footsteps approaching.

 _Great, they're back…_ Ralph thought, realizing that they had now given away their entire position to the rest of the Cage.

Two black-clad soldiers wielding M4 rifles turned the corner and aimed their guns at Ralph and M16.

"Put your weapons down!" one of them yelled in American-accented English.

 _Are they American soldiers? They don't have official patches… Private militia? Sangvis mercenaries? Or maybe Americans turned Sangvis soldiers?_ Ralph tried to figure out what their role was.

"Where's M4, you fucks!" M16 demanded.

The black-clad soldiers responded by firing, and M16 shot back a splitsecond later. Ralph dove behind Dramer's body, trying to avoid the bullets. When the shooting stopped, the two soldiers were dead, and M16 was shot in the shoulder and was bleeding. She grit her teeth and clutched at her wound, staining her shirt and her hand red.

"Fuck," she cursed, not knowing if she could continue on with an injury to compound her problems.

Ralph was unscathed, and he stood up to examine her wound. "It's not that bad, at least not for a healthy person. Can you go on?"

"Yeah. Gonna have to," she simply replied, though her voice was strained.

 _She won't last much longer,_ Ralph decided even as they continued walking. _All my soldiers are dead or dying, and I'm injured too. If I don't find AK-12 and AN-94 soon, this mission is failed._

The sound of gunfire grew even louder, which gave him hope. He paused as they arrived at another staircase descending into the lower level.

"They're right down there. You all right?" he turned to M16.

M16 was leaning on the wall, sweating heavily. "Yeah, I'm… Yeah, I'm good…"

"You look like you're going to die any second," Ralph frowned. "Whatever. Just make it down these steps and shoot the shit out of anyone who doesn't look like a T-Doll."

Ralph put his arm around M16's waist as she gripped her assault rifle with both hands, the pair slowly making their way down the short stone staircase.

They entered into a room that was fairly brightly lit compared to the rest of the Cage, though it was completely barren save for a few large metal crates… And the people fighting in it. AK-12 and AN-94 were taking cover behind a couple of the crates, and judging by the sound of the weapon being fired at them, it seemed Kinkaid was the one shooting at them. AN-94 noticed Ralph and M16 and nudged AK-12, who also turned to look with her violet eyes.

Ralph stopped at the base of the staircase, just out of sight of Kinkaid. He raised a finger to his lips, indicating to the two Russians that he didn't want to give away his position just yet. AK-12 and AN-94 got the message and looked away from him as they continued to take turns laying down suppressing fire at Kinkaid.

 _What to do now…_ Ralph wondered as M16 looked at him curiously. _Hm. In my days in Africa, my commanders would have just sent a human wave attack at this guy to neutralize him. Probably won't work here since we only have four soldiers, one of whom can't even walk on her own._

"Sir. Are there enemies on the other side of the room?" M16 asked, trying to understand the situation.

"One enemy, to be exact. Unfortunately we can't do shit to him with regular weapons for some reason," Ralph replied, scratching his head. "You got anything that can take him out, M16?"

The Doll sighed. "They took away my stun grenades, or else that might have helped…"

Ralph saw AN-94 looking at him from her position behind one of the crates. She tapped her rifle and displayed the empty cartridge, indicating she was out of ammo. AK-12 was still firing, but she would probably run out soon as well. There wasn't much time left.

 _Eh, fuck it._

"Cover me, M16," Ralph said, letting go of her.

Ralph then took both his shoes off, picking up one in his right hand and holding his machete in the other. He then leapt out from the staircase and right into the midst of the firefight.

"Incoming grenade!" he shouted, tossing his shoe at Kinkaid, who was standing there without cover as he reloaded his shotgun.

Kinkaid jumped, startled by the sudden intrusion, and his anti-projectile shield immediately activated, knocking the shoe out of the air.

 _There has to be a recharge time on that!_ Ralph judged, hoping that AK-12 and M16 would get the hint.

Sure enough, they did indeed, and both of them shot at Kinkaid as soon as the shield dissipated and Ralph's shoe fell to the ground. The bullets smacked into Kinkaid, causing him to stumble. Black liquid seeped out of his wounds and dripped onto the floor.

 _Now take this!_

Ralph drove the tip of his machete into Kinkaid's eye, skewering one of the only parts visible behind his ski mask. Kinkaid grunted in pain, as did Ralph, who was still suffering from his back injury.

Suddenly, the door behind Kinkaid opened, revealing a girl with light strawberry blonde hair and wild red eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, the girl stabbed a combat knife into the back of Kinkaid's neck. Kinkaid yelled in pain, and Ralph took that opportunity to slice his machete across Kinkaid's neck, spraying himself in black liquid. Kinkaid dropped to his knees, then fell face-first on the floor, finally dead.

"Yes!" the red-eyed girl grinned, revealing long, pointed canines. "Thanks for the help, mister! I was waiting for an opportunity to attack, but I was afraid that weird forcefield of his would block me."

"Who the fuck are you?" Ralph questioned, though she did seem familiar.

For the moment, his attention was more focused on the room which she had been hiding in. It appeared to be some sort of control room, possibly the headquarters of the Cage. However, there was no one in there, and the computers and monitors were all smashed up. There was also a huge hole in the ceiling reaching all the way up to the sky itself, as if someone had fled from there in a hurry by just rocketing upwards.

"I'm M4 SOPMOD! Nice to meet you!" the red-eyed girl greeted.

"SOP? You're here!" M16 yelled from across the room, weakly leaning against the wall.

SOPMOD waved at her cheerily. "Hey, M16! I came back!"

In spite of her injuries, M16 managed to walk over along with AK-12 and AN-94.

"You idiot, I thought I told you to run away," M16 sighed at SOPMOD.

SOPMOD grinned. "What did you expect? There was no way I was going to leave you guys here."

Ralph turned to her. "You're the one with the codes, right? I'll take those off your hands, if you don't mind."

"Eh? But M16 said I wasn't supposed to give them to anyone," SOPMOD looked at M16 unsurely.

"He's the commander they sent to rescue us, so I guess he has clearance," M16 said, albeit slightly reluctantly. "But more importantly, we need to find M4 and fix up STAR. The codes can come later when we're back at base."

"Actually, I need them now. That's an order," Ralph insisted. "Don't worry. We'll find M4 and get STAR out of here regardless."

M16 made no argument, so SOPMOD slowly reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small black capsule. She moved to hand it over, but before she could, a bullet slammed into her head, knocking her dead and almost deafening Ralph. Shocked, he whirled around to see AK-12, her weapon raised and that classic smile on her face.

"What the -"

Ralph's sentence was interrupted as AK-12 then turned to fire a few shots into the already weakened M16, killing her. AN-94 merely stood behind her comrade, watching silently.

"What the fuck are you doing!" Ralph demanded to know, utterly stunned by her actions.

"I'm sorry, sir, but those codes belong to us," AK-12 simply said. She pushed past Ralph and tore the capsule from SOPMOD's dead hands.

"Are you fucking insane?!" Ralph yelled, unable to comprehend what was going on. "AN-94, what the fuck is wrong with her? Stop her, dumbass!"

AN-94 maintained a neutral expression. "Commander, this is where we part ways. Thank you for your help up until now."

She too walked past him, following AK-12 as they entered the room that SOPMOD had come from.

Ralph just stared dumbly at the door for a good thirty seconds before bursting through it. AK-12 and AN-94 stood in the center as a long ladder of some sort came descending from the large hole in the ceiling, and Ralph could hear the sounds of a helicopter's blades.

"Stop, you fucking cunts!" he raged, brandishing his machete. "Give me the codes! I'll fucking kill you!"

AK-12 smirked at him as she stepped onto the ladder after AN-94, pointing her rifle at Ralph. "There is no reason for us to kill you, Commander, but there is no reason to leave you alive either. Don't come any closer."

Ralph grit his teeth in frustration, unable to make good on his threat. Even if he went back and picked up one of the dropped guns, AK-12 was still a quicker and more accurate shot. He had no chance of stopping them by himself.

The two assault rifle T-Dolls began slowly going up as they were carried off by the helicopter.

" _Do svidaniya_ , Commander," AK-12 gave him a parting smile as they left.


	10. The Cage VII

**07/27/2024**

 **1200 hours**

 **Bangkok, Thailand**

 _What the fuck… Betrayed twice in one day…_ Ralph was truly dumbstruck.

He went back into the room with the crates, staring silently at the corpses of SOPMOD and M16. The blonde T-Doll was cleanly shot through the forehead, AK-12's masterful aim taking out SOPMOD's processing unit with one bullet. M16 was slumped over against the wall, a streak of red behind her from where she slid downwards. Ralph sort of felt bad for her; she had clearly had a rough time in captivity, and now she had been killed by her own allies. The good thing was that AK-12 and AN-94 had left in a hurry, so they hadn't bothered to destroy the AR Team's cores. Either that, or they simply had no desire to permanently kill M16 and SOPMOD.

Ralph's amazement at the situation began to turn to unease. _No friendlies left, and who knows if Sangvis Ferri has more reinforcements in this place. They could be converging on my position at any moment… Fuck!_

For the first time since he left Africa, Ralph felt hopeless. He tried to control his breathing and think clearly, but he struggled with even that much. At least back in Africa he was drugged up most of the time, but now he had nothing to numb the feeling of despair and panic that clouded his mind. To make matters worse, he could hear the faint sound of running boots.

 _It's over. I never got to see it after all._

Those bright lights from his childhood appeared fuzzy as he tried to recall them. Nevertheless, their brilliance still shone, and he felt himself disappear inside them.

 _Ah, I'm fading away,_ he dropped to his knees as the sounds grew louder. _Was this life worth anything? I guess I'll never find out._

A squad of soldiers burst into the room, running down the stairs and pointing their guns around. When they ascertained there was no threat, some of them ran right past Ralph and went through the door AK-12 and AN-94 exited through. A couple remained behind, and Ralph was snapped out of his daydream.

"Sir. Are you all right?" one of the soldiers asked him.

 _Wait… G &K mercenaries? _Ralph realized. Slowly, he stood back up. "Yeah, I'm fine. You're from G&K, right?"

"Yes, sir. We've been sent as reinforcements," the mercenary answered.

The mercenaries who went through the door returned. "There's no one in there. It's empty."

"All right. It seems like this entire base has been cleared, then," the mercenary who had been talking to Ralph nodded.

 _Seriously? What happened to Dreamer?_ Ralph wondered. There was no way that they had killed her.

"Proceed with exfil. All clear," the mercenary said, holding two fingers to his earpiece. He then turned back to Ralph. "Sir, we should get out of here. Are you injured? Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I said I'm fine," Ralph replied as he watched two of the mercenaries pick up M16's and SOPMOD's corpses. His back still ached, but he could move on his own. "Did you find the other Dolls?"

"AR-15 and the Kar98k and M590 models? Yes, they are being recovered," the mercenary answered. "We should go now. The helicopters are waiting outside."

Wordlessly, Ralph followed the mercenaries outside the Cage. It was midday now, and the sun was beginning to hit its peak over the city of Bangkok. Numerous G&K personnel and helicopters were parked around Wat Arun, the rebels apparently having fled or been defeated. Ralph emerged along with the mercenaries, feeling like he had just woken up with a hangover.

A girl with dark hair suddenly ran towards him… Or at least he thought she was running to him, but she completely ignored him and went over to the mercenaries carrying M16 and SOPMOD.

"A-Are they all right?" she asked in a small, worried voice.

 _Is that M4? Where was she?_ Ralph wondered as he looked at the girl. She didn't look fresh, but she didn't look as bad as M16 did either, so he assumed they were being stored in different locations.

Ralph was about to ask where she had come from, but a familiar voice caught his attention.

"You idiot commander, what the hell were you doing down there? Everybody's dead!"

WA2000 stormed over to him, an angry look on her face as usual and her rifle strapped to her back.

"Why the fuck are you still here?" he asked, not wanting to deal with her shit at the moment.

"Because I knew something like this would happen! And where are AK-12 and AN-94?"

Ralph chuckled dryly. "Oh, they're gone. Gone with the fucking nuke codes."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" WA2000 managed to stop being angry for a second to appear confused instead.

Ralph sat down on one of the steps of the temple. "You heard me. They fucked us."

"You can't be serious!" WA2000 exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. "Even AK-12 and AN-94 betrayed us? That's impossible!"

"Yeah, you're right, it's impossible. This is all just a dream," he remarked sarcastically as he stood up. "Now, please leave me the fuck alone."

Ralph began walking towards the tents in the main temple compound, hoping that there was some leftover food and drinks or that G&K had brought some provisions with them. To his displeasure, he noticed that WA2000 was still following him.

"Can I help you?" Ralph asked gruffly, turning to face her.

"D-Don't give me that look! I don't have anywhere else to go!" she replied, blushing.

The small radio on Ralph's belt then crackled to life. He had almost forgot it was even there, and he was surprised it hadn't been damaged in all the fighting.

" _... Hello? Commander Ralphie?"_

Ralph hurriedly plucked the radio from his belt as he recognized the voice. "Mr. Kryuger! Hello."

" _You made it out alive, huh? I saw in the logs that you contacted the base with that radio device, so I was just checking up on the situation,"_ Kryuger said. " _It seems the operation didn't go too well. The codes were stolen, I presume?"_

"Yes, sir," he answered. _So he knew that I knew about the codes?_

" _It was those two Russian Dolls,"_ Kryuger stated, surprising Ralph once again with his knowledge. " _I just heard our reinforcements didn't get there in time to stop them. They're long gone by now and we can't track them for some reason."_

"Do you know why they betrayed us?" Ralph asked, still at a loss at their sudden treachery.

" _No, we don't have the full picture yet. We suspect that it had something to do with the Spetsnaz and the Russian military. Whatever the case, leaving the codes in their hands can't be a good thing. We need to recover them as soon as possible."_

"All right, leave it to me, sir," Ralph declared, now itching for revenge against the two Russians who so easily played him.

" _I don't think so. We need you back at HQ, Ralphie."_

"But I -"

" _That's an order. Besides, your team can't be in good shape right now. You need to head back for repairs and submit your report. One of the helicopters will take you back soon. I will see you then."_

The connection cut off, and Ralph stowed the radio back on his belt with a frustrated look.

"We're going back to Moscow?" WA2000 summarized.

"Looks like it…" Ralph muttered. Though he did not want to follow those orders, he had no choice for now.

"By the way, Squad 404 was here," WA2000 told him. "They looked really banged up. Do you know what happened to them?"

Ralph squinted in confusion. "404? Did G&K send them to recover the codes?"

"So you don't know either," WA2000 figured. "It seemed like they were hiding something…"

"Doesn't matter anymore, I guess. G&K as a whole was thoroughly defeated today," Ralph concluded. His turquoise eyes burned with rage. "Next time, though… I'll have my revenge."

* * *

 **07/28/2024**

 **1100 hours**

 **G &K HQ, Moscow, Russia**

Ralph sat at a table in the third floor cafe of the G&K HQ building, his usual dining spot when he was back at home base. Seated next to him was DSR-50 and M590, and WA2000, Kar98k, and Kalina were on the bench just across the table.

With a mug of coffee in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other, Ralph looked over the report that Kalina had written.

"Yeah, it seems fine, I guess," he apathetically decided, sliding the report across the table and back to Kalina.

"All right, I'll submit it to Helian," Kalina said. "By the way, is AR-15 around? I haven't seen her since you got back."

"Heh. You really think she's going to spend any time with us now that she has her buddies back?" Ralph replied bitterly.

"Well, it's fine to give her some time with them, right?" DSR-50 said with a smile. "Besides, some of those girls had it rough, especially that M16… I can't believe how horribly she was treated."

WA2000 nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's disgusting! I'm glad we killed all those rapist pigs!"

"You didn't do shit. You didn't even go down there with us," Ralph pointed out. "And don't make such a fuss about rape, it happens in every conflict."

"Would you stop being an insensitive jackass for one second! _Dummkopf!_ " WA2000 scowled.

"Ah, give him a break. He's still sore about his massive failure with the mission," Kalina interjected.

Ralph shook his head and sighed. "Glad to know you always have my back, Kalina."

"Um, I want to say something," M590 started. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more of a help during the battle. To die from one attack, it's pathetic…"

"It's all right, the rest of us didn't do that much either, to be honest," Kar98k told her sheepishly.

"At least you did more work than WA," Ralph said.

"Hey!"

"Anyway," Ralph continued, "with STAR leaving our ranks and the betrayal of our Russian comrades, we are now down to a five-member squad. That's not good enough to get us anywhere. Most of the senior commanders actually command multiple echelons while I can't even fill out one with just four T-Dolls."

"That's sad for you, sir," Kalina agreed sympathetically as she sipped from her own coffee cup.

"Why are you acting like this has nothing to do with you? You're assigned to my squad too, remember?" Ralph frowned at her. "Either way, we need to recruit some new Dolls to replace the ones we lost. Only then can we go after AK-12 and AN-94."

DSR-50 then nudged him in the side with her elbow, causing him to look over and see Helian entering the cafe. The dark-haired woman strode over to their table, wearing her usual stern look.

"Come to join us for breakfast?" Ralph offered, raising his mug.

Helian paid that no mind. "Father is not happy with you, Ralphie."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that," he replied flatly. "Any other insightful comments?"

Helian eyed the rest of his squad. "You only have four T-Dolls left, I see. Not enough for even one echelon."

"I know, we were just talking about that. Can you help me out?" he asked.

"No. Unfortunately, you won't be going anywhere anytime soon. You're being assigned to HQ for the foreseeable future," Helian told him.

Ralph nearly dropped his cup. "What?! But you can't!"

"Yes I can, though this isn't only my decision. Mr. Kryuger ordered it and I seconded it," Helian clarified. "To be honest, I thought it was a mistake to send you out there in the first place. You're a rookie commander with very little experience leading T-Dolls, and the only reason you were even sent in the first place was because you were already familiar with the Thailand base and because of Father's influence."

"That doesn't make any sense! I still recovered the AR Team like I said I would, right?" Ralph insisted.

"Every single member you rescued was dead when we brought them in, and you're not even the one who found M4A1. To make matters worse, you let the enemy get away with the nuclear codes."

Since the conclusion of the Thailand operation, the existence of the nuclear codes had been made public knowledge among G&K commanders, particularly because the enemy was now in possession of them and they needed to be recovered.

"This is unfair! How was I supposed to know those Russian bitches would betray me?" Ralph argued.

Helian sighed at his persistence. "You do have a point there. Regardless, the results speak for themselves. If you want to be sent out again, you need to prove yourself to Mr. Kryuger. He already thinks highly of you thanks to Father, but even he can't put you in charge of a mission like this. Do you understand? This is no longer a covert operation against what we assumed to be small resistance forces. This may involve the Russian military in its entirety, as well as Sangvis Ferri and the Americans. This isn't something fit for a new commander to take on."

"Then what am I supposed to do? Just fucking sit here?" Ralph replied angrily.

"For now, yes, though I'm sure you will get a new assignment eventually. Maybe if you do well on it, we will reconsider our position."

Her tone leaving no room for further argument, Helian turned on her heel and departed, leaving Ralph in an even worse mood than he started out in.

"Great. We've been defanged," he determined, slumping over in his seat.

"Cheer up! She just said we have to prove ourselves, right?" Kalina tried to console him.

"It's over," Ralph moaned into the table.

"Well, personally I could use a break," WA2000 said, standing up. "Suck it up, Commander. The next time we fight, I don't plan on losing."

Ralph raised his head to glare at her as he walked away. "Uptight twat."

"I think I will go enjoy this break too," Kar98k decided, getting up as well. "I hear the HQ has an artificial hotspring. I would like to try it out."

"Oh? That does sound nice," M590 agreed. She gave Ralph an apologetic look. "I will see you later, sir."

"They've all left me," Ralph lamented as the Dolls cleared out. Sitting up, he grabbed DSR-50's hand. "You'll stay and comfort me, right, DSR?"

"Yeah, if you're gonna do that, I don't think I'll stay and watch," Kalina said, standing up to leave.

"Er, um, maybe not today, sir," DSR-50 smiled as she removed her hand from his grip. "But you really should take Fraulein Kalina's advice and cheer up. It's not as if we're out of commission forever."

Ralph deflated again. "Fine, you might as well abandon me too. Everyone else did."

"Commander… Please don't act like a child," DSR-50 frowned at him. "I know, how about we take a walk around Moscow? I've never been out in the city for an extended period of time. It could be interesting, right?"

Ralph looked reluctant, but he realized he had nothing better to do. "Sure, I guess."

The two of them stood up to exit, but their path was blocked by two men, both of them wearing red blazers and black slacks, just like Ralph.

"What's up, scrub?" the one with dark brown hair and icy blue eyes greeted, his hands in his pockets and a cocky smirk on his face. "Heard you're the guy who lost the nuke codes in Thailand. Pretty pathetic."

Ralph unsheathed the machete from his belt. "Thank you, you're just what I needed. Someone to take my anger out on!"

"What the fuck! You can't carry that thing around!" the dark-haired commander backed up in surprise.

The other commander, however, seemed unperturbed. He had short blonde hair and a cheerful face, and he reached out a hand to Ralph. "Hello! My name is Henry Knox, and the charming gentleman next to me is Conrad Hotzendorf. You're Ralphie, right? Nice to meet you!"

Ralph shook his hand, still holding his machete in his other hand. "Yeah, whatever. You have business with me or what?"

"Not really. We just happened to see you here, and thought we might as well get a closer look. You're every bit as ridiculous as we heard," Hotzendorf said, keeping his distance. "Surely you weren't actually going to stab me with that thing?"

"This machete? Don't think that's allowed at this particular base," Ralph replied. "I would have just smacked you in the face with the flat of it. I can still do it if you want."

"Now, now, no need for violence!" Knox mediated with a smile. "Sorry to take up your time, Ralphie! Well, we'll be on our way, then! I'm sure we'll meet again!"

"... Fucking weirdos," Ralph said as the two commanders left.

"Perhaps you shouldn't be so rude to your fellow commanders, sir," DSR-50 advised.

Ralph scoffed at that. "Yeah, no. I'm sure those bastards will be off chasing the nuke codes in no time while I'm still stuck sitting at HQ."

"Now, what did I say about being cheerful, sir? You can't keep whining, or else it will affect the morale of those under you command as well," DSR stated.

He hated to admit it, but she was right. "Yeah, I guess… All right, then instead of complaining, we should try and get back out into the field. Firstly, we will need to replenish our losses. AR-15 has forgotten us, and those two Russian cunts betrayed us. We're down three assault rifle Dolls."

"Did you say Russian assault rifle?"

Ralph and DSR turned to the direction of the voice and saw a woman sitting at the bar in the corner of the cafe. She had long, light blonde hair with multicolored tips, and her hazy eyes glanced over the pair. She stood up from her seat, wobbling slightly as she held what appeared to be a flask in her hands. She wore a white military coat and tight black bodysuit underneath that accentuated her figure nicely. A deep flush painted her cheeks red as she stumbled over to Ralph and DSR-50.

" _Privyet_ , comrades. I am the Tactical Doll A-91," the woman greeted, just barely avoiding slurring her speech. "If you are looking for a Russian assault rifle, look no further. I am yours to command!"

Ralph regarded her warily. "Are you drunk? It's 11 a.m."

"Noooo, of course not, sir!" A-91 denied, smiling sloppily. "I may be slightly inebriated, but only slightly! I am perfectly fit to fight."

"Commander… She is definitely drunk," DSR-50 said, cringing a bit.

"You look like you can't even stand up straight," Ralph observed. "Where's your commander? Does he know that you're up here drinking?"

"I don't have a commander, sir. That's why I'm offering my services to you," A-91 bowed.

"All right, well, thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass," Ralph decided, not interested in fighting alongside a drunkard.

A-91 suddenly grabbed hold of his shirt, throwing herself against his chest. "No, please, sir! I'll do anything you ask! I'll even suck your cock if you want!"

"What the fuck?" Ralph wondered aloud as the T-Doll now started sobbing into his chest. He looked to DSR for help, but she seemed just as stunned as he was.

"Y-Y-You can't abandon me! If I don't find another combat echelon soon, they're going to d-dismantle me for parts!" A-91 wailed.

"Calm the fuck down," Ralph tried to push her off, but she remained attached to him. "Who's going to dismantle you? G&K?"

A-91 reigned in her tears momentarily. "Y-Yes… My previous commander kicked me out of his echelon because I was drunk all the time… But it never affected my combat performance! I shoot better when I'm drunk!"

Ralph found that last part hard to believe, but then again, IOP would have scrapped her immediately if she was programmed to be a drunkard and yet couldn't aim properly while drunk.

"Okay, get off me. You can join my echelon," he relented.

A-91 looked up at him with hopeful eyes. "R-Really? Thank you, sir! _Khorosho_!"

"Sir, are you sure this is a good idea?" DSR-50 asked, looking over A-91 with apprehension.

"I mean, we've got nothing to lose," Ralph shrugged. "You heard Helian earlier. She's not going to just hand us any new Dolls, so we have to recruit new members some way or another. Besides, if A-91 proves to be a liar and she's not actually useful in battle, I'm perfectly fine with letting her die. It would be her own fault anyway."

"Ah, my new commander is so harsh~" A-91 grinned stupidly as she hung off of Ralph's shoulder. "I won't let you down, sir!"

"Yeah, whatever. We've got a rough road ahead of us, so good fucking luck."

Ralph was about to turn to leave the cafe, but now someone else had walked in. _It's M4A1?_

The AR Team leader glanced around the cafe a few times before spotting Ralph and walking over to him. She stopped and saluted when she reached him.

"Sir! I am M4A1," she greeted. "Apologies for not introducing myself sooner. Thank you for rescuing my teammates."

"Oh, yeah, no problem," Ralph replied. _Nice to finally get some credit._ "How's STAR doing?"

"She is fine now, as are M16 and SOPMOD. Their cores were not harmed, so they have made a full recovery," M4 explained.

"That's good to hear," Ralph nodded. "By the way, I didn't get to ask you this before, but where were you being held yesterday? You weren't in the Cage, right?"

"No, sir. I was being held in a massage parlor in a different part of the city. The Americans were using it as an office," M4 informed him. "Luckily the officers stationed there weren't too harsh, and they had orders not to harm me. I heard they lied to M16 about what they were doing to me, though… They really didn't hold back on torturing her."

 _Yeah, she looked pretty fucked up back there,_ Ralph recalled finding the bruised and dirty M16 in chains. _Even so, she still managed to fight hard. She's pretty tough…_

"So, what is the AR Team going to do now? Do you have your next mission?" Ralph wondered, hoping that he might be able to get AR-15 to come back.

"Not yet, but I assume it's going to be to chase down AK-12 and AN-94," M4 told him, her tone serious. "When that time comes, I hope we can count on your help again, Commander Ralph."

"Y-Yeah, sure…" he didn't mention to her that he had been placed on HQ duty.

M4 then looked at DSR and A-91. "Are you two members of his squad? Thank you for your help as well. I'm sorry you had to risk your lives for us."

"You're very welcome, comrade!" A-91 enthusiastically replied, despite the fact that she had not been there.

"Well then, I'll be going, sir. Please stop by sometime - I'm sure STAR and M16 would be happy to see you again," M4 smiled at Ralph before leaving.

"Hm, she's a pretty nice girl. Didn't expect that from the leader of the AR team. Definitely not like that UMP45," Ralph noted. "Speaking of Squad 404… I wonder what happened to them. WA2000 said something about how they were in Bangkok. Do you happen to know anything, DSR?"

DSR frowned. "Yes, I do remember them being there. They said they were caught in an explosion and they were waiting for medevac with us. UMP9 said that they had been deployed as additional forces for the rescue mission, but for some reason they landed at a different location than we did and we were not told they would even be accompanying us. I suspect their real motives were the nuclear codes, though I don't know much else beyond that."

Ralph rubbed his chin as he thought that over. "Could they have known about the ambush…? No, there's no way, or else G&K wouldn't have sent us right into it."

"Perhaps Squad 404 knew but G&K didn't?" DSR offered.

"Is that possible? Would they hide something like that?" Ralph wondered. "They are a covert, independent squad without a commander, I guess… But we're still allies in the end, even if I did piss them off back in Athens. Surely they wouldn't go that far?"

"Would you have told them about the ambush if the roles had been reversed, sir?" DSR questioned.

Ralph smirked. "No, I suppose I wouldn't have. Those 404 fucks duped us, just like AK-12 and AN-94 did."

"We don't have any proof of that, and it is still just conjecture," DSR reminded him. "It's probably best not to start a conflict with them, especially if we are trying to prove ourselves to the high command. Don't you think so, sir?"

"Maybe…"

* * *

 **07/27/2024**

 **Unknown Time**

 **Unknown Location**

" _... The codes were lost?"_ a feminine voice asked through monitor's speakers.

Dreamer stood alone in the empty control room of the Cage. Her face was still in its deformed state, chipped away and revealing the metallic skull underneath. However, her pale yellow eyes and demonic smile remained.

"Yes, Agent. Unfortunately I did not manage to get my hands on them," Dreamer answered.

" _So not only did you fail to procure the nuclear codes, you also did not kill any members of the AR Team and you let Scarecrow die."_

"Yes."

" _Is that the report you want me to submit to Elisa?"_ Agent asked, growing annoyed at Dreamer's cavalier attitude.

"If you want to do so, go ahead," Dreamer replied. "I was able to place a tracker on the Dolls that escaped with the codes, however."

" _And? Where are they going?"_

"Currently, it looks like they are en route to Siberia," Dreamer answered, taking a look at another one of the computer screens she had revived. "Gager and Architect should be stationed up there, no?"

" _Yes, we will have them intercept once you transmit the full location data,"_ Agent confirmed. " _Aside from that, what of the Americans? We haven't had any contact with them since the attack by Grifon."_

"Major Chittenden was captured by G&K, and the other two officers are no longer in town," Dreamer informed her. "It seems like most of their forces pulled out when G&K attacked. They even let M4A1 go free without a fight. Can you believe that?"

" _I can believe that, yes. I always knew they were unreliable allies. Now that we have failed to obtain the codes, we are presumably enemies again,"_ Agent said. " _Also, about the experimental procedure Elisa authorized… How did it go?"_

Dreamer frowned as she glanced at Kinkaid's body that lay just outside the room. "Oh, that. It was a failure. I think Elisa might be right; the perfect AI must eclipse humanity instead of relying on it. A human base did not work out well."

" _I see. It is expected, I suppose… Any further news on Grifon? Those two Dolls that took the codes are no longer with the company, so I presume Grifon must also be attempting to track them down."_

"I would assume so, but I'm not entirely sure," Dreamer shrugged. "I was still in a weakened state when Grifon forces arrived to recover their personnel, so I didn't get a chance to overhear anything from them. Since your information network hasn't heard anything either, I would guess that G&K don't even know where the codes are right now."

" _Yes, that sounds plausible. Then we have a head start on them,"_ Agent surmised. " _For now, we should try to avoid antagonizing G &K and instead focus on recovering the nuclear codes. Dreamer, you are in charge of keeping an eye on their movements. Judge is watching over the Americans from her post in the United Kingdom, and I am monitoring the League of Nations Army. If any one of them makes a move, we must adapt our plan. Is that understood?"_

"Hm, so all I have to do is watch those rats scurry about? That sounds pretty boring," Dreamer complained.

" _Regardless of your personal feelings, getting those nuclear codes is of utmost importance to our goals. Do not cause unnecessary trouble."_

With that, the connection cut off.

Dreamer sighed to herself. _Just sit back and watch G &K? That's way too easy… I think I want to make this a bit more fun…_

* * *

 **07/28/2024**

 **1400 hours**

 **G &K HQ, Moscow, Russia**

WA2000 aimed down the sights of her scope, trying to concentrate on the dummy target down the indoor firing range. In the lane beside her, Kar98k was practicing her shooting as well, though she appeared much more focused than WA2000.

"Hey," WA2000 started, getting out of her shooting position to turn to Kar98k. "AK-12 and AN-94… Do you know why they betrayed us?"

Kar98k cast a quick glance at WA2000 before looking back down her own sights. "I'd assume it was because they wanted the nuclear codes."

"I know that, obviously! But why did they want them to begin with? Aren't they supposed to follow orders like we are?"

"Maybe they were following someone else's orders?" Kar98k offered. "Remember, they did join us out of the blue back in Bangkok, and we didn't know much about them or where they came from. They said they came from a G&K detachment, but who knows if that was true."

"It had to be true, right? Or else they wouldn't have been allowed here at HQ," WA2000 pointed out.

"Hm… I suppose that makes sense," Kar98k had to agree. "I don't know what was up with them. They were a mystery to begin with is all I am saying."

"Yeah, but they did help us out and fight with us," WA2000 continued. "AK-12 busted us out of the Thailand base too when we got captured. Was that all just a lie?"

"It could have been if they were just using us to get to the codes, yes." Kar98k took her eyes off the range and turned to face WA2000. "Why are you asking so many questions about them?"

WA2000 looked away. "I don't know… Doesn't it seem wrong that we fought and bled alongside them and yet they still left us so easily?"

"Of course it does, but that's natural when it comes to betrayal. Right?" Kar98k said. "Best to get that off your mind. The next time we meet them, we will be enemies. I doubt they will show us any mercy, so we can't go easy on them either."

"Excuse me," a dark-haired T-Doll who had just entered the range walked up to the German snipers. "Are you two WA2000 and Kar98k? My name is M4A1. I heard you were part of the squad that rescued my sisters. Thank you very much!"

"Ah, it's no problem," Kar98k replied. "So you are the famous M4? It is nice to finally meet you."

M4A1 blushed. "Y-Yes, likewise! I'm sorry I interrupted your conversation. What were you two talking about?"

Kar98k and WA2000 shared a look.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was private! I'll just be going, then," M4A1 apologized, flustered.

"No need to apologize. We were discussing AK-12 and AN-94," Kar98k filled her in.

"Oh, those two…" M4A1's expression fell.

"I was just saying that it feels dirty that they left us like that, you know?" WA2000 said. "I mean, I thought we were comrades. I heard AK-12 was even the one who killed your two squadmates."

"Did you really have to bring that up?" Kar98k sighed as M4 looked even more depressed at being reminded of that.

"Oh, um, it's all right," M4 tried to perk herself back up. "But yes, Miss WA, it's natural to feel like that. T-Doll mindmaps are modeled after human consciousness after all, sometimes a little too closely…"

"What do you mean? Isn't our AI programmed into us when we are built?" Kar98k asked.

"Yes, but that AI program is based off real humans," M4 elaborated. "Some mindmaps are the result of a combination of copied consciousness, while very few are based off one person in particular. We don't get their specific memories, but we do inherit their personalities and some of their feelings. Either way, most of those humans are long dead, so in a way, we T-Dolls are the ones who make sure that their personalities and feelings survive."

"Both our bodies and minds are based on humans, huh…" WA2000 mulled that over.

M4A1 nodded. "Tactical Dolls may be machines, but we are also very human. That's one of the things Sangvis Ferri hates the most about us, actually…"

"Oh, shit! You weren't lying about being able to shoot while drunk!" Ralph's loud voice was suddenly heard from somewhere farther inside the firing range.

"Ugh, the Commander is here too? I hope he doesn't see us," WA2000 frowned.

"Ah, right, I need to find him," M4A1 remembered her original reason for entering the firing range.

"What do you need him for?" Kar98k was curious.

"M16 wanted to see him for something. Anyway, it was nice to meet you both! Thank you again."

M4A1 left them, but her words still lingered in their minds. As they went back to their target practice, both Dolls wondered about their own mindmaps and what the humans who made up their consciousness had been through in their lives.


	11. Village of Dreams I

**09/30/2024**

 **1500 hours**

 **Pushkino, Russia**

"Hmph. I'll handle this," Ralph declared, taking off his red blazer and throwing it to WA2000.

As WA2000 fumbled to catch the blazer, M590, Kar98k, DSR-50, and A-91 stood by with their weapons as Ralph, now dressed in just his black slacks and his white dress shirt, raised his fists and squared up against his opponent, a rather skinny Russian man. A small crowd of townspeople were also watching the curious spectacle.

"Fuck you! You think you tough!" Ralph's opponent yelled at him in heavily-accented English.

"Yes sir, I do indeed," Ralph grinned, bouncing on his toes as he loosened up.

DSR-50 sighed on the sidelines. "I know we were called in to settle a dispute between two local farmers before it got violent, but I didn't think it would end up like this…"

"Leave it to the Commander to make even the most simple of missions complicated," Kar98k shook her head.

Meanwhile, A-91 was positively enjoying herself, drunk as usual. "Yeah! Go for it, Commander! Trash that _gopnik_!"

The skinny man rushed Ralph and took a wild swing, but the commander merely stepped to the side, laughing all the while. The Russian tried another punch, but Ralph ducked under it and then retaliated with an uppercut that knocked his opponent out cold immediately.

"Yeah! That's why you don't mess with me!" Ralph cheered as half the crowd clapped and the other half dispersed with a mutter, the short fight evidently not providing as much entertainment as they thought it would.

"Say that when you beat someone who isn't several weight classes below you," WA2000 said, tossing his blazer back at him.

A portly, short man with a bushy brown beard stepped over to Ralph and shook his hand heartily. "Well done, my boy! _Khorosho_! You see that, Alexander? I won our duel, and so the disputed portion of the field belongs to me."

Alexander, a man with dark hair and an even bushier beard, separated himself from the crowd. "Wrong, Sergeyevich! We agreed to settle this by each paying a fighter to duel, but you brought a damn battalion with you! How is this fair!?"

"A battalion? You mean those girls? They didn't even fight! It's your fault for being cheap and recruiting such a weak fighter to represent you!" Sergeyevich said, incredulous.

Ralph stepped in between them. "Gentlemen, please. It's settled, and Sergeyevich here is the victor."

Ralph then turned to Alexander, putting his hand on the man's shoulder as his turquoise eyes twinkled dangerously. "And you, my friend… If I hear that you didn't respect this result, I will have my girls come and pay you a visit, and it won't be one that you will enjoy. Understand?"

Alexander scowled and walked off in a huff, causing Sergeyevich to laugh. "Good, he gets what he deserves! Thank you for the help, Commander Ralphie. This is the third or fourth time you are here in our town, no?"

"Yeah, the last time we were here was to provide security for some business meeting about a new apartment building that they're planning to construct," Ralph said.

"Oh, I see. Not that I don't appreciate your help, but usually you Grifon commanders are participating in military operations instead of doing work like this. Is business slow these days?"

"Yeah… Something like that," Ralph lied.

In truth, he and his squad had still not been sent out on any sort of meaningful mission ever since the Thailand operation ended in failure. Recently, G&K had managed to learn the general whereabouts of the nuclear codes, and they had found that out they were somewhere in Siberia. Ralph had hoped that his squad would be sent out on the mission, but instead, G&K had mobilized a handful of other echelons to begin the search. Ralph was left at HQ with the few T-Dolls he had, unable to recover what he had lost. But he had not given up yet.

The group said their goodbyes to Sergeyevich and began walking back towards their GAZ Tigr armored vehicle, ready to return to HQ.

"Aaahh, that was so cool, Commander!" A-91 gushed, throwing an arm around Ralph's shoulders. "You knocked him out in one punch! You're strong!"

"Heh, G&K commanders are required to maintain a certain level of physical readiness, so yeah," Ralph boasted, clearly enjoying himself.

"Oh, please. It's not that impressive," WA2000 rolled her eyes. "And A-91, you need to stop enabling him whenever he does shit like this. I'll take away your alcohol again."

"No! You can't!" A-91 cried out. She clutched Ralph tightly, looking up at him. "She can't do that, right, sir?"

"And stop sucking up to him!" WA2000 screeched at her.

A-91 smirked. "Oh? Perhaps you want to suck him instead?"

"W-What?!"

"Who is that young man over there?" M590 pointed at the guy standing nervously beside their vehicle, interrupting the argument. He was holding some sort of a flower in his hand, and he shuffled nervously as he waited for them.

"Eeeeh?" Ralph frowned as he watched the teenager perk up as they approached. "If he's standing there in plain sight, I guess he's not dangerous. Probably just some random weirdo."

When they arrived at the Tigr, the young man went up to DSR-50 and thrust the flower out towards her, blushing. He also said something in Russian, his voice shaky.

"Oh? For me?" DSR-50 took the flower and gave it a curious look. "I don't speak Russian, though… What did he say, A-91?"

"Haha, he said he wants to bend you over and fuck your brains out!" A-91 drunkenly laughed as she slapped the kid on the back, her boisterous behavior clearly making him uncomfortable.

"Somehow I doubt that's what he said…" Kar98k frowned.

"Hey, hands off my property," Ralph told the young Russian man, pushing him away from the group and opening the driver's seat door, preparing to leave.

"We are not your slaves, sir," DSR-50 reminded him in a disapproving tone.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get in the car."

Once everyone was in, Ralph started the car and drove out of the town on the single, poorly-maintained road that led out of Pushkino and towards Moscow. Russia's infrastructure had suffered quite heavily from World War III, and much of it had not been repaired yet. They saw very few other cars as they drove back to base, the traffic really only starting to pick up once they got into Moscow, but even then, the activity was nowhere near pre-war levels.

Just over half an hour after they left Pushkino, the group arrived at G&K Headquarters, their home for the past few months. Ralph parked the Tigr in G&K's big parking lot and stepped out into the late afternoon sun, taking the AK-47 he had left inside the vehicle out in order to return it to the armory for the day.

 _Another exciting mission completed,_ he droned sarcastically in his head as he led his Dolls to the front entrance.

The main lobby of the HQ building was as pristine and beautiful as always. The silver floor shone from the copious amounts of sunlight directed inside from the large windows, and the glass chandeliers that hung from the ceiling also twinkled majestically. As usual, there weren't that many people inside the lobby apart from the receptionists and the variety of businesspeople milling about and talking with G&K representatives. Ralph did not understand much of the financial and supply side of G&K, nor did he care to. He left that stuff to Helian and his father.

Ralph handed his AK-47 to M590. "M590, do me a favor and return this to the armory. I've got business to attend to."

"Business? You mean going to the bar or taking a nap in your room?" WA2000 glared at him.

"Hey, don't blame me. M16 invited me today," he shrugged.

"You could always decline and say you have work to do… Which you do, you know," Kar98k was also not amused. "We didn't bring Kalina today, so you're going to have to submit the report yourself, sir."

"Report on what? We barely did anything," Ralph said. "Surely one of you could handle something so simple? What do you say, WA? I'll leave it up to you."

"Like hell I'm doing your job for you, idiot Commander!" she yelled in frustration.

Ralph grinned. "Thanks, I knew I could count on you! See ya!"

Before WA2000 could say anything more, Ralph hurried off to the central staircase and went down a level to get to the basement. Technically the basement wasn't the actual lowest level of the building (the true basement was where most of the R&D labs were), but it was the lowest level that you didn't need special clearance to get to.

He entered into a hallway and turned right to reach the entrance to the only bar on base that actually sold alcohol. It was a dimly-lit place that was a drastic aesthetic change from the majority of the neat, sterile HQ, but it was comfortable in its own right. It was still working hours so the bar wasn't very busy at the moment, but there was one person seated at the moment, her glass half full of her favorite drink, Jack Daniel's whiskey.

"Yo, Commander Ralphie," M16 raised a hand in greeting as Ralph took a seat beside her. "How'd your mission go?"

"Boring as usual," Ralph replied, inputting his drink order into the automated system at the bar.

"You didn't tell A-91 you were coming to the bar? Surprised she isn't here."

"Don't you remember she got into a fight with the bartender bot the last time she was here and put it out of commission? Maintenance crew banned her for three weeks," Ralph said.

"Heh, they actually banned her for that? Guess she did waste G&K's time and money by having to fix that bot," M16 gave a wry smile. "Now she joins 416 on the list of banned customers, hahah!"

"416 is banned from here? What did she do?" Ralph questioned as he watched the barebones automated system pour out a cup of vodka.

"I can't even remember since I was probably drunk out of my mind too," M16 admitted. "Actually, her ban has probably worn off by now. Luckily her teammates have stopped her from coming, though… Well, that and the fact that you can usually find me here."

"You don't get along well?"

M16 shook her head. "Nah, she kind of hates me for some dumb reason. Not that I really mind, though."

"Eh, can't say I like her either. But I have to admit that she is really hot."

The automated system slid the glass of vodka over to Ralph. He picked it up and took a sip.

"Kind of sucks that the bar's auto system can't make anything more complicated than pouring a single drink out of a bottle," Ralph noted. "Guess we have that dumbass A-91 to thank for this…"

"Hm, I don't really mind. Nothing's better than a bottle of Jack," M16 said, finishing off her glass before pouring herself another. "I do agree that this bar could use some improvements, though. The bartender bot is an outdated chunk of scrap with a slow AI, there's no music, and all the furniture in here looks worn out. Maybe I should petition Kryuger to remodel this place."

"Yeah, I'm sure that'll be at the top of his priorities list," Ralph smirked. "Anyway, how's the AR Team doing? Did they say when you would be cleared to deploy again?"

"That's why I called you here, actually. We're going to be deployed tomorrow," M16 told him.

Ralph was surprised. "So suddenly? I didn't hear anything about that… Now that I think about it, I haven't heard anything about any of the echelons that were sent to recover the codes. Did something go wrong?"

M16 looked down into her drink. "Yeah. We've lost contact with every single echelon we sent to Siberia."

"All of them? How?" Ralph didn't believe that they could have all been wiped out so easily. Some of those echelons were made up of veteran commanders and T-Dolls.

"I'm not sure. Persica said it might just be that our communications aren't very reliable out in the tundra, but we don't know much about the situation," M16 told him. "Either way, we're being sent to see what's going on."

Ralph mulled that over, taking another sip of vodka. "... That sounds kind of dumb to me. Why send in more reinforcements if you have no clue what went wrong in the first place?"

"It's not like we have a choice. No one knows what AK-12 and AN-94 have done with the codes, and we really can't afford to wait around to find out. I guess Kryuger thinks that sending in his most powerful echelon to figure out what's going on is his best bet," M16 said.

"Well, if it's just a scouting mission, then I guess it's fine. As long as your primary objective is to discover what happened to the echelons we sent out instead of just blindly rushing for the codes, you should have a shot." Ralph now saw the logic in it. "Aside from that, is your squad prepared to head out to the battlefield again?"

"Hm? Yeah, STAR and SOPMOD have been begging to get back into the fight, and M4 is just glad to have us all together again," M16 said.

Ralph glanced at her warily as he took another sip. "I see…"

"You remind me of a fox, with that orange-ish hair and those scheming blue eyes," M16 sighed. "You were asking about me, weren't you?"

Ralph smirked again. "Maybe I was."

"Hmph. Well, I'm doing fine, all things considered. Sometimes I have… Unpleasant dreams, but the fear goes away as soon as I wake up. It's not affected my combat performance at all," M16 said, draining her glass again. "Say, Commander… Have you been raped before? Or have you raped someone before?"

"Oh? Those are quite personal questions you're asking," Ralph said, wearing a whimsical smile. "Why would you even think that anything like that has happened to me, or that I've done things like that?"

"Eh, I was curious about you since you're the one who saved me from the Cage, so I asked Persica about you," M16 simply said. "She told me you grew up as a child soldier in the Congo. Africa during World War III was one of the worst possible places to be on the Earth, so I'm assuming you've seen and done your share of fucked up shit. Am I wrong?"

"The fuck? How does Persica know all that?" Ralph wondered as he too finished his drink. "Anyway, yeah, it was a rough time. Whether I've been raped or raped people… I'll leave that up to your imagination. Not like it fucking matters anymore anyway."

"So you're still sore about it, both mentally and physically?" M16 wore a shit-eating grin.

"Oi, don't think I won't punch you because you're a girl," Ralph threatened, though he couldn't help but smile a bit as well.

"Try it, sir. Out of all the Tactical Dolls, I'm the one most proficient in CQC," M16 wagged her finger at him.

"Is that so? Maybe we should spar sometime." Ralph said. "But you know, STAR has been in a similar situation to you before. Do you remember that rescue mission in South America?"

"That's right, you were there too, weren't you?" M16 recalled. "I don't think we ever saw you, but STAR did mention that was how she knew you from before. Anyway, did anything happen to her when she was held captive? She refused to talk about it to us even when we asked her, and she's seemed mostly fine since then. Did she tell you something?"

"Not particularly," Ralph admitted. "But STAR isn't the type of girl who would share that kind of stuff willingly. All I know about the situation is that she still hates her captors with every fiber of her being. Actually, the two of us used to have an agreement where she would use her connections to find out information for me, while I would use mine to find out information about the narcos who held her hostage. It seems she wants revenge."

"Really? I never knew…" M16 frowned. "But what was the information you wanted from her about, sir?"

"Information about America," he told her. "How to get in. The country is almost impenetrable, but I want to find a way in. There's something I have to find again."

M16 looked interested. "And you thought that STAR could use her influence as one of the AR Team to figure something out?"

"Yeah, and she was pretty useful for a while. She met with a lot of officers from various militaries across the world and tried to get as much information out of them as she could," Ralph detailed. "But in the end, she didn't find out much except for confirming that the USA is a pretty difficult place to infiltrate. Though I guess I didn't find a lot of information about what she wanted either…"

"Why do you want to go to the US? You were born there, right?"

Ralph nodded. "Yeah, but that's not really why. Like I said, there's just something I have to see again… What about you? You're American, right? Don't you want to go to America too?"

"I mean, I'm a T-Doll whose sole purpose is to the wield and synchronize with the M16 rifle and my accent is programmed to be an American one, so I guess I'm American," M16 lightly shrugged. "But I don't know if I really want to go there. It'd be nice, I suppose, but I'm happy wherever I'm needed and wherever the AR Team is. I don't need much more than that."

"I see..." Ralph stood up and yawned. "Anyway, I've gotta go. WA is going to shoot me in my sleep if I don't write the after-action report. If I don't see you before you leave, good luck with your mission. Give STAR my regards too. That icy bitch has barely spoken to me since we rescued you."

M16 chuckled. "She's just bad at expressing herself, but I'm sure she's thankful to you. I'll see you around, sir."

* * *

 **10/01/2024**

 **1300 hours**

 **G &K HQ, Moscow, Russia**

HK416 leaned against the reception desk in the lobby of the G&K HQ building, her green eyes fixed on the AR Team, who were standing just outside of the building and were preparing to head out towards the heliport.

"Um… Miss, can I help you with something…?" the receptionist asked unsurely, wondering why the T-Doll was just standing by the desk and looking outside.

416 glared at her. "No. Just keep quiet."

She then went back to observing the AR Team. M16 was talking animatedly to SOPMOD and M4A1, the former looking cheerful as usual while the latter simply smiled as she listened. AR-15 seemed to be focused on checking her equipment and inspecting her gun.

"Hmph. Now that the AR Team is back, they are the ones being sent on the most important missions," 416 complained to herself.

The receptionist cast a curious glance at 416, but quickly looked away when 416 have her another unfriendly glare.

Truth be told, 416 was more than just a little annoyed. Her last mission had ended in failure, and Squad 404 had not recovered the nuclear codes like they were supposed to. To make matters worse, she herself had been severely damaged and needed to spend several days in the repair bay. Deele, who had been out of town, still made sure to give her a lengthy talking to over the phone, which only pissed her off even more. UMP45 was also nowhere to be found, having left the HQ building as soon as she had been repaired. UMP9 had said that 45 was off doing business, but 416 still felt disgruntled at being left out of the loop.

 _And now that bitch M16 is off to make a name for herself again while I sit at Headquarters and rot,_ 416 scowled as she watched M16 and SOPMOD burst into laughter outside.

"Enjoying the view?"

416 jumped slightly at the unexpected voice, then turned around to see Commander Ralph wearing a wolfish smile.

She narrowed her eyes, not having heard his approach at all. "What the hell do you want?"

"Is that the way you address a commanding officer?" Ralph's grin only grew wider, enjoying her discomfort. "But whatever. Seems like you're having a good time getting your fill of M16 over there."

"That's clearly not what I'm doing!" 416 denied.

"Then what are you doing?" Ralph questioned knowingly.

"That's none of your business, _sir_."

"Hm…" Ralph rested his elbow on the receptionist desk, blocking 416's view of the AR Team. His turquoise eyes ran over 416's figure.

"What are you doing!" 416 took a step back, barely resisting the urge to just punch him right there.

"That knife," he pointed to the combat knife strapped to her thigh. "Do you know how to use it?"

416 frowned. "Of course I know how to use it. Why else would I have it?"

"Then why don't we spar together? Your knife and my machete only. A fight to the death."

"W-What? How is that a spar? And do you really think you can beat me?" 416 was already in a bad mood, and Ralph was only making it worse.

Ralph held his arms out in a grandiose manner. "Why not?"

He then took a step towards 416. "Do you want to know something about the machete? It's not really a weapon, but rather a farming tool. You're not supposed to use it in a fight, but many of the soldiers who fought in the African Civil Wars were just simple farmers, so they had no choice but to use whatever 'weapons' they had available to them. And you know what? Those soldiers were raised as farmers, and they learned to wield the machete from an early age and are very skilled with it; they use it like an extension of their arm, because it might as well be. I may not be able to beat a T-Doll like you when it comes to guns, but I've fought and killed a ton of African soldiers in machete battles. I've chopped up countless numbers of them."

416 took another step back. "Good for you, I guess…"

Ralph's pupils looked like tiny pieces of coal embedded in a field of diamonds. "Did Squad 404 know about the ambush in Bangkok, 416?"

416 froze. _Did he figure it out? Who told him?_

"Hey, you two, what's up! Came to see me off after all, huh?" M16 loudly interjected as she walked into the HQ building along with the rest of her team.

"Ah, I just happened to be passing by," Ralph greeted, the tension in his demeanor disappearing as if it had never been there in the first place.

"Yeah, nice excuse. You're just sad to see me go, I know," M16 nodded. "What about you, 416? Finally decided to drop your tsundere act?"

"Tsun-what?" 416 blinked. "And no, I'm not here to see you! I was just…"

"Uh-huh, you were just what?" M16 waited with a smug smile.

416 looked ready to blow. "Urgh, fuck you, _dumpkoff_! Go die on your mission!"

The 404 T-Doll stormed off as M16 laughed.

"Were you two talking about something before? Sorry I interrupted," M16 then said.

"Nah, nothing important," Ralph dismissed. "So, you're not leaving yet? You're back inside."

"We just got word that the chopper is going to be late, so yeah, we're still waiting," M16 told him.

"I see." Ralph looked at AR-15. "Haven't seen you in a while, STAR. Trying to act like you don't recognize me, eh?"

"That's not it," AR-15 frowned.

"Oh? So you haven't completely abandoned us, then?" Ralph smirked.

AR-15 sighed. "Don't put it like that… You knew full well that I was only part of your squad temporarily."

"I guess. But after AK-12 and AN-94 left, my echelon just hasn't been able to get back to its full strength. That's why I'm still sitting here on base while you're going out on missions," Ralph lamented.

"Well, that's unfortunate, but there's nothing I can do about it," AR-15 said. "Can't you find new Dolls to replace the three that left? It shouldn't be that hard."

"Hey, maybe you're just that irreplaceable to him, STAR," M16 said before erupting into laughter along with Ralph.

"You two…" AR-15 frowned. "Whatever. Anyway, Commander Ralph, even if I'm not part of your echelon anymore, I do pay my debts. Once this mission is over, I'll try and help you with that thing you wanted."

"Oh, the America thing? Yeah, let's all go together! It will be fun!" M16 grinned.

"Yeah! I wanna go too!" SOPMOD chimed in.

"Sure, I'd be glad to have you all along. Just don't think it's going to be some sort of vacation, because I'm sure that the military dictatorship there won't be happy to see us," Ralph smiled bitterly.

M4 then put her hand to her ear, receiving a transmission through her comms. "... It looks like our transport is here."

"All right, well, good luck," Ralph told them. "Also, if you run into AK-12 and AN-94, tell them…"

"Tell them what?" AR-15 raised an eyebrow after Ralph was silent for a few seconds.

Ralph shook his head. "Nah, never mind. Just give them a bullet for me. See ya."

As Ralph left, AR-15 scratched her head in confusion. "That was strange. Then again, he's always been a weird guy."

M16 shrugged. "Maybe AK-12 and AN-94's betrayal affected him more than he lets on."

"There's no way. I doubt he even cared about them to begin with," AR-15 replied.

"Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Ralphie will be an interesting commander to watch. Not many people at the main G&K bases are like that," M16 said.

AR-15 scoffed at that. "Yeah, because G&K doesn't hire arrogant assholes if they can avoid it."

"STAR, you shouldn't be talking that way about someone who saved your life," M4 admonished. "But anyway, we should get going now. I'm sure the pilots don't want to be kept waiting."

With that, the AR Team left G&K HQ, their silhouettes bathed in the afternoon sunlight.

* * *

 **10/02/2024**

 **1400 hours**

 **Moscow, Russia**

UMP45 sat at an outdoor cafe table across from her sister. Both 45 and 9 were dressed in casual clothing, though they each wore a jacket to conceal their weapons underneath.

"Hey, this drink is actually pretty good!" UMP9 smiled as she sipped from her iced coffee.

"That's nice," UMP45 replied tonelessly. "Just don't forget that we're here on a mission."

"Eeeeh… You were gone for so long and now we're on a mission as soon as you get back. Can't we have a little break?" UMP9 whined.

UMP45 gave her a flat look. "You're starting to sound like G11. Besides, you've been on break for months now. Isn't that good enough?"

"Yeah, but you weren't there!" UMP9 pointed out.

UMP45 sighed. "All right, all right. Once this mission is over, we can all go on vacation together, if that's what you want."

"Yep!" UMP9 grinned. "Though maybe G11 and 416 will be harder to convince…"

"Speaking of them…" UMP45 activated her comms. "Hello? Are you two in position yet?"

" _Yes, we have been for a while,"_ 416's voice replied from the other end.

"Has anyone spotted you?"

" _Not that I can see."_

"Hm… There's a group of men sitting outside that restaurant across the street. They look like they could be military officers or FSB operatives," UMP45 warned. "Stay alert. Though both sides agreed to bring no security, the military is definitely not following that rule, and we have to assume they think that we aren't either. Those officers could just have their eye on every young, pretty girl in the vicinity in case they turn out to be T-Dolls."

" _Eh? You think I'm pretty, 45?"_ G11 drawled with exaggerated disbelief.

"This is no time for jokes. Don't put your guard down." UMP45 then ended the communications.

"I wonder what they're talking about in there," UMP9 asked, glancing at another cafe situated in between the cafe the UMPs were at and the restaurant. "Do you know, 45?"

UMP45 shrugged. "Let's just say I have some idea. Either way, let's hope that they can reach a peaceful resolution, or things might get messy out here…"

Meanwhile, inside the middle cafe, two men sat across from each other at a booth in the corner of the store.

"Kryuger. Good afternoon," one of the men started. He wore a green military officer's jacket, and he had white hair along with a short white beard on his chin.

"Yes, glad we could meet, General Carter," Kryuger replied in his usual gruff tone.

"I'm surprised you asked for a meeting. It isn't often that our military interacts with your company, aside from the occasional peacekeeping mission," Carter brought up. "You didn't give me a lot of details about this meeting either. Mind if I ask what this is about?"

Kryuger frowned. "All right, then I'll just be as direct as I can. You know about the nuclear codes, right?"

"Of course. I heard G&K operatives failed to secure them and that they are now missing," Carter answered.

 _Missing?_ Kryuger repeated in his head. _Does that mean he really doesn't know where they are? Or is he intentionally playing dumb?_

"That is the situation right now," Kryuger went along with it. "But… Is that really all you know? Like I said, I'm just going to be direct: the T-Dolls AK-12 and AN-94. Are they working for you?"

General Carter blinked in surprise. " _You're_ asking _me_ that question? And here I was just about to ask you the same thing. That is why I agreed to this meeting in the first place."

"Huh." Kryuger was confused now. "Why would you ask me that? As far as you know, AK-12 and AN-94 have always been G&K Dolls."

"That's not entirely true. Yes, AK-12 and AN-94 were intended to be for G&K's use, but before they entered into one of your echelons, they were part of an FSB squad. That squad was said to have been completely wiped out at the Battle of Kunming, but a few months ago, we received word from some Spetsnaz that those two Dolls were spotted inside your base," General Carter informed him. "Also, I wasn't being clear earlier. I know AK-12 and AN-94 are the ones who took the nuclear codes."

"So you knew that? And by your explanation just now, I presume you're saying that AK-12 and AN-94 did not take the codes under your command?" Kryuger pressed.

"No. We have no authority over them anymore," Carter answered. "We thought that AK-12 and AN-94 might have taken the codes under G&K's command, with the betrayal in Thailand being a feint. We also thought that they might have been part of a G&K echelon gone rogue or something like that. But since you're asking me if they are under my command, I guess those theories were both wrong."

"Yes, they truly did betray us," Kryuger told him. "But that's strange… If they're not working for the Russian military or G&K, then who are they working for?"

"Sangvis Ferri? The Americans?" Carter provided.

"I doubt it considering they stole the codes from the Americans and Sangvis Ferri," Kryuger shook his head. "They have to be working for some sort of third party. Do you know anyone they could be working for, General?"

Carter closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he tried to think. "Hm… Their previous squad leader in the FSB was an agent who went by the name of Angelica, but our records state that she died at the Battle of Kunming. However, since we were wrong about AK-12 and AN-94 having been eliminated at that battle, we may be wrong about her as well. Nevertheless, I can't fathom what her motive is if she really did direct them to do this, or whether she is working alone, with someone, or for someone else. There is a lot we don't know here."

 _It doesn't look like I can get a lot more information out of him, in part because he doesn't know a lot to begin with,_ Kryuger realized. _Well, at the very least, I found out that the Russian military was not behind this, so that's a relief._

"All right, General, I don't think we can solve this by sitting together and talking about it, so unless you have anything else you would like to ask me, I would say this meeting has served its purpose," Kryuger concluded, standing up.

"No, no, I agree. We should get to unraveling this situation as soon as possible," General Carter said, getting up as well.

The two men then shook hands, but as they left the cafe, there was an unspoken goal that they both were well aware of: whoever found out what was going on first would get the nuclear codes and all the power that came with them.

* * *

 **10/02/2024**

 **1900 hours**

 **Pushkino, Russia**

Dreamer stood alone atop a small hill, overlooking the town of Pushkino in the distance. A gentle breeze caused her black hair and dress to sway idly as she observed the town with her pale yellow eyes, her pretty face having been reconstructed from when it had been smashed in by the T-Dolls in Bangkok.

 _A pathetic settlement. Humans desperately living their meaningless lives in the shadow of a war caused by themselves,_ Dreamer thought, scowling as a feeling of disgust passed over her.

She then smiled. _Well, I suppose if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be able to have this much fun. I should thank them for that much, at least._

She held up a capsule containing a strange-looking liquid. _I know Agent told me not to interfere… But I'm sorry, I can't follow those orders. This is just too good to pass up._

Over the past couple months, Dreamer had been observing the G&K Headquarters and its surrounding areas, and she had noticed a patrol coming into this village on a few occasions. When she got a closer look, she saw it was the same commander and T-Dolls who she had run into in Thailand. Her curiosity piqued, she decided to test them once again… Though if she were being honest, there was also an element of revenge to it as well; they had managed to disable her twice in one day, and she hadn't been able to permanently kill any one of them.

 _But that's going to change now,_ Dreamer smirked, turning the capsule in her hands and watching the liquid move inside of it. _Just a few of these, and I will turn this place into a playground. I hope you will have fun, Grifon and Kryuger!_

Dreamer's inner revelry was interrupted when she felt a communication request come in through her comms. Frowning, she answered it.

"What is it?"

" _Dreamer, I have received your report,"_ Agent said over the comms. " _So the AR Team has left their headquarters? Presumably they are heading to Siberia."_

"I don't know for sure, but that's what I would assume," Dreamer agreed. "What are Architect and Gager doing? You haven't sent me any reports about them."

" _Because you didn't need to know. But if you're curious, then they haven't been able to move out yet, unfortunately. As you are aware, G &K sent out numerous echelons in search of the nuclear codes about a month ago. Architect and Gager had to deal with them first."_

"Oh? And…?"

" _All the G &K echelons have been eliminated," _Agent confirmed. " _Because of the terrain and the frequent snowstorms, we are not sure if each and every Doll and commander has been killed, but we do know that we have done enough damage that they are no longer a threat to us anymore."_

"And the AR Team? Do Architect and Gager have to fight them too?" Dreamer asked.

" _No; we've wasted too much time already. I've ordered them to go forward and retrieve the nuclear codes. If our Siberia base falls to the AR Team, then so be it."_

"Then it sounds like you should have just done that from the start," Dreamer pointed out.

" _Maybe so, but we did not expect G &K to keep sending echelon after echelon, much less the AR Team," _Agent countered. " _Nevertheless, previous sunk costs should not affect our plan moving forward."_

"Fine, then… Any news from Judge?"

" _Nothing of significance. As expected, it is extremely difficult to understand what preparations the American military is making."_

"So nothing new. Any updated orders for me?" Dreamer asked.

" _No, you should stay in position. There isn't much of a reason to focus on anything other than the nuclear codes right now."_

"Is that so? Understood. Goodbye," Dreamer finished, terminating the transmission.

 _Agent, Elisa… I won't do anything that hurts our goals, but I don't think I can follow those exact orders,_ Dreamer's lips curled into a twisted smile. _It's time for the nightmare to begin!_


	12. Village of Dreams II

**10/02/2024**

 **1900 hours**

 **Pushkino, Russia**

A young man with light blond hair and pale, blue eyes stuck his shovel into the dirt, absently picking up another load of dirt and tossing it to the side. He then went to do another, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Oi, Fyodor, what are you doing? I told you the hole is deep enough now," Sergeyevich, the owner of the farm they were working on, said to him. "What's wrong with you? You've seemed distracted lately."

"It's nothing. Just a bit tired today, that's all," Fyodor tried to deny.

Sergeyevich wasn't buying it. "Oh, really? It seems you have been this way since that G&K echelon came through here. What, did they bully you or something? Come on, you should have known better than to mess with that Ralphie."

"It's not that," Fyodor shook his head. "It's just that I… I asked one of those girls out on a date and was denied."

Sergeyevich froze for a good five seconds, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha! You did _what_? Hahaha!"

Fyodor blushed with embarrassment. "You see? This is why I didn't want to tell you!"

"Woo," Sergeyevich finished, wiping a tear from his eye. "Good God, I needed that laugh. Haha! I didn't know you had the balls to do such a thing, my boy! What the hell is wrong with you? Hahaha!"

"And what's so bad about it? Huh?" Fyodor demanded to know, now growing annoyed by the older man's teasing.

"You really are a greenhorn," Sergeyevich sighed. "First of all, those girls are exceptionally beautiful, and even the most handsome men and women in this town would have a tough time standing up to their looks, let alone you of all people… No offense intended. Secondly, those girls are military robots and are property of Grifon and Kryuger. You can't simply ask one of them on a date!"

"It didn't seem like such a bad idea to me," Fyodor frowned, refusing to admit defeat for the sake of what little pride he had left.

"And that's why I called you green," Sergeyevich grinned. "Why didn't you ask one of the girls in town? Sure, they may not be as pretty, but…"

"You don't understand. I really liked her," Fyodor insisted. "That DSR… Yes, she's beautiful, but she also has such a kind, caring personality. Just being around her makes me feel warm."

"Which one is DSR? The one with the huge tits? Or the one who looks like she always has a stick up her ass? I assume she's not that drunk Russian bitch… But either way, you've seen her what, two or three times in your life?" Sergeyevich pointed out. "You are young, such feelings happen. You don't always need to seriously act on them, though… Anyway, what did she say when you asked her?"

Fyodor blushed again. "I, uh, don't really know. I don't think she speaks Russian, and I don't speak English very well, so I thought I would embarrass myself if I tried it."

Sergeyevich laughed again at that. "So, what, did she just give you a disgusted look and walk off?"

"She didn't give me a disgusted look, but she pretty much ignored me. Then her commander pushed me and said something that wasn't very friendly," Fyodor told him.

"Oh, I'll bet. Consider yourself lucky that Ralphie didn't just put a bullet in you and be done with it," Sergeyevich smiled.

"If this Ralphie guy is so bad, then why does he always come here," Fyodor grumbled.

"It's not like we ask for him specifically, G&K just sends him whenever we request their assistance with something. But he can be helpful sometimes, as you saw a few days ago. The reason why we're even out here working is because he managed to secure this part of the farm for us," Sergeyevich gestured with his hands. "Now, let's put this sapling in the hole and cover it back up with dirt."

The two Russians lifted the sapling and dropped it into the hole they dug, then got to work covering it back up. After a few minutes, their task was finished, and Fyodor stuck his shovel into the ground and wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.

"Hah… Are we done for today?" Fyodor asked.

"What, you want to go home and dream of DSR some more?" Sergeyevich joked, earning a glare from the young man. "But yes, we're done. Good work today, Fyodor. How are things at home?"

Fyodor sighed. "Mother is still drinking, so she is not being helpful at all, as usual."

"Yeah, you got it rough. A shame your father died in the war. He was a good man and could have given you a hand with everything," Sergeyevich nodded sympathetically. "But it doesn't matter. If you keep working hard, I'm sure you can make it, Fyodor. And even if it isn't that DSR or whoever, I'm sure you'll find a nice girl who appreciates you eventually."

"I'd sure like to believe that," Fyodor wore a tired smile.

"Haha! All right, son, go get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

Fyodor waved goodbye to Sergeyevich and then began his walk home. He hoped his mother was asleep by now, or else he would undoubtedly have to deal with her drunken ramblings as he made dinner.

 _Huh, streets are quiet today,_ Fyodor thought as he walked through the center of town.

Eventually he made it back to his own house, which was a small shack close to the outskirts. It was a rather tiny place to live, but it didn't cost too much to maintain, and considering there were only two people living there, the space wasn't a big issue anyway.

Quietly, Fyodor opened the door and crept inside, trying not to wake his mother, who was currently passed out at the kitchen table. Unfortunately for him, his mother began rousing when he entered, apparently having heard him anyway.

"Mother, don't fall asleep at the kitchen table," he chided her now that she was waking up.

He expected an annoyed, groggy reply, but instead all he got was a gurgle of some sorts. Now slightly concerned, Fyodor stepped towards her.

"Mother…?"

Suddenly, she lifted her face from the table. Her flesh was a greenish-gray, and it was peeling off her bones like it had been exposed to intense heat or radiation. Her left eye was slipping free from its socket, and she let out a low moan as she slowly stood up from the table.

Fyodor backed away in utter shock, unable to understand what was happening. In a flash, his mother leapt at him, and he barely sidestepped her as she crashed into the wall. She then looked up at him again, staring at him with those deformed, inhuman eyes.

Barely remembering to breathe, Fyodor sprinted out of the house.

* * *

 **10/02/2024**

 **2000 hours**

 **G &K HQ, Moscow, Russia**

"I… told you to… Stop!"

"N-No! Never!"

Ralph watched in amusement from his bed as WA2000 and A-91 struggled over A-91's flask, the German T-Doll trying to pull it from the assault rifle Doll's grip while the latter held on for dear life.

"Um… Shouldn't we stop them?" Kar98k asked from where she sat at Ralph's desk.

"Why bother?" Ralph simply shrugged as A-91 lost her balance, falling backwards and causing WA2000 to land on top of her.

"Oh, my," DSR-50 noted, turning around on the couch to glance at the two bickering T-Dolls.

WA2000's face was planted firmly in A-91's chest.

"All right, I like where this is going," Ralph egged them on.

WA2000 immediately leapt off A-91, her face red. "Ugh! Why do I have to be stuck here with you people!"

"Hey, not my fault Kalina went out tonight and forgot to leave her key with you," Ralph said. "You really should have gotten some spare cards made for yourselves."

"Or you could just get us our own rooms like a competent commander would!" WA2000 yelled.

"Actually, that isn't my fault. G&K just hasn't been able to get spare rooms because both the AR Team and apparently Squad 404 were staying here," he explained.

"That can't be right. This building is pretty big, and the echelons that left on the mission must have left spare rooms behind, right?" Kar98k pointed out.

"I mean, you can't just take over an old room just because the inhabitants went on a mission. That's like saying you never expect them to return," Ralph countered. "Though you may be right about there being more spare rooms that I don't know about… Even so, there's a whole process for that, and I don't feel like going through that shit. Helian was actually the one who registered you under my name, so she was the one who did all that administrative stuff. I guess she forgot about the dorms."

"Yeah, right. That's probably a convenient excuse so that you could sleep with your Dolls, you creep!" WA2000 accused.

Ralph, used to WA2000's antics by now, only grinned. "Come on. I've been sharing a room with M590 and A-91 for months now and I haven't touched either of them. Isn't that right, girls?"

"He is telling the truth," M590, who was seated next to DSR on the couch, admitted.

"Yeah, I bet you ordered her to say that," WA2000 glared at Ralph.

"You'd lose that bet because I wouldn't rape my own soldiers. Sounds like it could come back and bite me in the ass, so I don't do it," Ralph said. "But I'd never turn any of you down if you were willing, just so you know!"

"I'm willing, sir!" A-91 raised her flask.

"If we didn't have four other people watching us and if you could stop being a fucking drunkard for one second, then sure," Ralph gave her a thumbs up. "Now, WA, please get the fuck out of my way. You're blocking the TV."

"Can't we do something more interesting than just watching TV?" DSR questioned.

Ralph yawned, evidently bored as well. "I'm not allowed to take this many of you out of the base unless it's for a mission, so I couldn't think of anything else."

"What do you usually do for fun, sir?" M590 asked, curious.

"Eh… Not much," Ralph admitted. "I used to go out to clubs and get wasted, but Helian put a stop to that pretty quickly. Now I mostly just stay in my room and watch TV or browse the internet, or spend the night at the bar with M16."

" _Da_ , I like that last idea!" A-91 cried, wobbling back to her feet with a drunken smile.

"That's too bad since M16 is gone and I doubt anyone else there will be happy to see you of all people again," Ralph shot her down.

"Maybe you should try and get us passes to the city then," WA2000 said.

"If you give me a kiss, then sure," Ralph propositioned.

"W-What? No way!" WA2000 scowled, though she was blushing hard as well.

"You make it too easy to tease you, WA," Kar98k sighed.

"But really, that might be a good idea for a change," Ralph thought it over. "I'll dump that on Kalina tomorrow, along with the request for your new rooms. You'll still be sharing with each other, of course, but at least Kalina and I can get our rooms back to ourselves."

"Ah, that reminds me, have we got any missions for tomorrow, sir?" M590 asked.

Ralph chuckled dryly. "Missions? Probably not, unless it's another day trip into a nearby village to babysit someone's cat or some shit. When was the last time we actually shot things?"

"There's a benefit to peaceful times too, sir," DSR-50 said.

"Except these clearly aren't peaceful times," Ralph sat up. "The other echelons and the AR Team are out there fighting, trying to recover the very nuclear codes that we lost. Meanwhile, we're just sitting at base, wasting away with no purpose and no direction. Things only appear peaceful to us because we're insignificant. It's the simple, unfortunate truth."

Nobody said anything after that, and the TV was the only thing that made any sound for the next minute.

"So, what are we supposed to do to change that?" WA2000 finally said. "Surely you have some sort of plan? I don't like being sidelined like this either."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I have no control over who gets sent out on what missions. All we can do is wait for Helian or someone to finally give us another chance," Ralph said bitterly, looking down at the floor.

Suddenly, the door was flung open. A white-haired T-Doll wearing an olive-green military coat and hat entered, a submachine gun hanging by her side and a panicked look in her blue eyes.

"Commander Ralphie! Urgent message from Miss Helian!" the girl cried in a Russian accent.

"Hey, you're that girl from before… OTs-39, right?" Ralph stood up. "What is it?"

"She has called for you in her office. Please follow me!"

Ralph glanced at his T-Dolls, who shared his confusion. Nevertheless, the group followed OTs-39 out of Ralph's room and towards Helian's private office. The SMG T-Doll was walking with a very fast pace, but Ralph didn't seem to share her time-sensitiveness, earning him more than one glare from her when she perceived he wasn't walking quickly enough.

Eventually they did reach Helian's private office. They found her sitting at her desk in front of her computer, a pretty blonde girl in a maid outfit serving her a cup of coffee as the group walked in.

"Miss Helian! I have brought Commander Ralphie as you requested!" OTs-39 saluted sharply.

"Yes, thank you." Helian then looked at Ralph. "Ralphie, there is an important mission for you. An ELID outbreak has been detected in Sector Four."

"ELID?" Ralph repeated, surprised. "But I thought they had completed the quarantine years ago in Russia."

"Yes, which is what makes this case strange," Helian agreed. "We don't know where this strain originated from, but that doesn't matter right now. We must put it down as soon as possible."

Ralph grinned, excited to finally have an important mission again. "All right, leave it to us! When do we head out?"

"Don't take this so lightly. Do you even remember where Sector Four is?" Helian frowned.

"Uh, that's…"

"Pushkino and its surrounding area," Kar98k provided.

"At least someone in your squad knows," Helian sighed. "Even though that town's population isn't as big as it was when compared to pre-war levels, it is still a sizeable settlement. If the disease has spread to infect the majority of Pushkino's residents, then that would be tough for even multiple echelons to handle. Do you understand what I'm saying, Ralphie? This is no joke."

"Yeah, I get it," Ralph replied dismissively. "But I only have five Dolls with me. Can't I get a few more or something?"

"I tried to field another commander and his echelon to go with you, but Father suddenly requested an 'urgent security detail,' forcing us to give that echelon to him. Now we don't have anymore to send with you because the rest are all on missions or are needed for base security," Helian said. "It's clear why Father did this: he wants you to prove yourself again in the eyes of Mr. Kryuger. However, this is no time for that sort of thing. This is an extremely dangerous mission, especially for only one echelon."

"Nah, it's no problem. I can handle it, but I'm just saying a few more Dolls could be helpful," Ralph repeated.

Helian facepalmed. "You're clearly not understanding… Fine. OTs-39 has been on missions with you before, right? Take her. You will also take G36 here. Make sure you treat them well."

"All right, that'll do for now, I guess," Ralph nodded approvingly.

OTs-39 looked to be in disbelief at having been assigned to Ralph's squad again, while G36, the blonde maid, showed no visible change on her professional, neutral expression.

"You will sortie immediately. Do you remember the protocol for dealing with ELID outbreaks that we taught you in training?" Helian asked.

"Sure. It pretty much just amounts to kill every infected, right?" Ralph summarized.

Helian sighed. "I suppose that will do. As soon as we are able to, we will send backup along with a medical squadron from the military. If you can, get rid of all the infected before then. Dismissed."

* * *

 **10/02/2024**

 **2100 hours**

 **Pushkino, Russia**

Ralph stepped out of the GAZ Tigr armored vehicle after parking it on the outskirts of Pushkino, leaning his AK-47 on his shoulder. Some of the buildings and houses had their lights on, and from afar, the town looked the same as it did every other night.

The three German sniper rifle Dolls exited the vehicle and began scanning the town with their scopes.

"Do you see anything suspicious?" Ralph asked as the rest of the T-Dolls disembarked as well.

"Not in particular…" DSR replied as she continued to look through her scope. "This may not be the best angle."

Ralph watched them, impressed at how well they could see even in the dark. But apart from the snipers and M590, the other T-Dolls did bring with them PEQs just in case they had to fight in dark areas in the town.

Ralph turned to his echelon. "All right. The plan is to advance slowly and methodically through the town, eliminating any infected we see. They are usually drawn to sound, so they should come to us. We don't know how long it has been since the initial infection, so it's entirely possible that this entire town is infected. That means that there is a good chance of getting swarmed by them, in which case we will retreat to the Tigr, circle around, and attack from the opposite side. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the T-Dolls all answered simultaneously.

Ralph took another look at the town. "Hm… Hopefully there aren't any later stage variants since the outbreak only just started. Anyway, let's move out and get this done as soon as possible. Now's our chance to prove to command that we deserve to be out here."

As per usual, M590 took point, leading the echelon into the infected town of Pushkino. Pushkino was not as big as it was before World War III, but it was still fairly large as far as settlements went, so the squad exercised due caution.

The group walked through the empty streets for fifteen minutes, not hearing a single sound, even from the local wildlife.

 _It seems too quiet here,_ Ralph observed, his eyes darting shiftily through the trees and buildings.

Out of nowhere, a huge explosion rocked the quiet atmosphere. Ralph and his T-Dolls whirled around in surprise and saw a small fireball go blazing up into the sky.

"What the fuck… That was our car," Ralph realized in disbelief.

"What?! Who blew it up?" WA2000 screeched.

"Oh, no! They're coming!" OTs-39 then warned.

Sure enough, a pack of infected ELID zombies was rapidly advancing on their position from within the town.

"Fucking hell," Ralph cursed. "Luckily we came prepared this time."

Ralph lifted his AK-47 and fed a grenade into its launcher, then hefted it towards the approaching horde and fired. The grenade flew off with a popping sound and landed towards the front of the ELID pack, exploding and sending limbs flying.

"Everyone! Retreat to that house over there!" Ralph ordered, gesturing towards a small two-story home on the street to their southeast.

Ralph and his group shot at the horde as they retreated into the house. It was a relatively tiny building with only a small living room and a kitchen, though luckily there was an upper level where the bedrooms were as well.

"Everyone except for M590 and OTs-39, get to the upper level and start shooting out of the bedroom windows. OTs, you stay and guard that back entrance - that is our way out if we can't hold this position. M590, stay at the front door just in case," Ralph delegated various duties to the T-Dolls.

The T-Dolls all ran towards their assigned positions, though Ralph noticed that M590 moved to hers a bit reluctantly. The tan-skinned Doll was trembling slightly as she gripped her shotgun and stood in the doorway, the advancing ELID horde visible in the distance.

 _I doubt these Dolls have seen anything like this before. It makes sense for them to be nervous,_ Ralph realized. Sighing to himself, he went over to M590.

"Don't worry, we'll leave before they get close," he tried to reassure her.

"R-Right…"

Ralph put his hand on her shoulder. "You stood up to Dreamer's laser beam, remember? If you can do that, then this should be nothing for you. Don't forget that we'll be shooting at them from upstairs too, so they won't have a chance to get close."

"Yes, sir. I will do my duty," M590 decided, nodding to Ralph.

Ralph then went upstairs with the rest of the T-Dolls. He was glad that his echelon had a good number of sniper T-Dolls in it, and he watched as DSR-50, Kar98k, and WA2000 sat by the windows and took careful, precise shots at the advancing ELID horde. G36 and A-91 were also firing at the enemy, trying to cull the pack as much as they could.

"Don't take any wasteful shots! You're not going to get any more ammo other than what you have on you right now!" Ralph reminded them over the sound of gunfire.

He then poked his head out the window next to G36's. The ELID pack was being felled rather rapidly as they encroached on their position, and luckily, there were no more ELID in the vicinity to replenish those that had been eliminated.

 _We will cut through this pack at this rate,_ Ralph calculated, dropping another grenade down the tube and pointing it out the window.

The grenade exploded among the horde, and the T-Dolls continued to put up a wall of fire, preventing the hapless ELID from getting close. After a few more minutes, the ELID had all been destroyed, and all that was left was a pile of corpses, body parts, and discolored bodily fluids in the middle of the street.

 _We're safe for now._ Ralph glanced out the window at the pile of bodies. It reminded him too much of the scene after a human wave attack that the African militias loved to employ.

"Sir, we should contact Headquarters for backup," G36 suggested, still looking prim and proper even after spending the last several minutes shooting zombies.

"Yeah, probably a good idea," Ralph agreed.

He brought his hand up to his earpiece and pressed a small button on it, but instead of being connected to G&K Headquarters, all he heard was a faint static.

"What the… No connection," he said as the T-Dolls gathered around him.

"What do you mean?! How come!" WA2000 demanded to know.

Ralph tried it again, but he was met with the same result. "Hah. Someone's jamming our connection."

"What? But who could be doing such a thing? There is no one but ELID in this town, right?" Kar98k asked.

"Even if there were some survivors left, it's unlikely that they would have the technology or a reason to jam G&K communications," DSR-50 pointed out.

"DSR is right. This is sabotage done by a third party who has something against us," Ralph nodded. "You know who fits that description perfectly? Sangvis Ferri. They are also the only ones who would have nothing to lose if the ELID spread from this area and infected Moscow and our HQ."

"Sangvis Ferri in this area? But Miss Helian didn't mention any sightings of Sangvis patrols…" G36 frowned.

"It's possible that it's just one or two saboteurs sent on a covert mission," Ralph said. "This situation is becoming clear to me now. Sangvis Ferri started the ELID infection to lure us here, then blew up our Tigr to prevent our escape, and now locked us in here with no way to communicate with HQ. This was all an elaborate trap to eliminate us."

WA2000 clutched her rifle nervously. "So they've trapped us in here with those… Things."

Ralph sighed, shaking his head at how easily they fell into the trap. "I think it's best if we try and leave the way we came. It was one thing to take care of a random ELID outbreak, but if it's being controlled and cultivated by a third party, then one squad isn't enough to handle it. Any objections?"

The girls all shook their heads, eager to get out of this place as soon as possible. With that plan in mind, Ralph led the T-Dolls down the stairs, where he told M590 and OTs-39 their next course of action. The group then slipped out of the backdoor, trying to make as little noise as possible in order to avoid alerting any remaining ELID. This was easy for Ralph, who was used to slinking around in urban environments and dark jungles, but the T-Dolls and their equipment made quite a bit of sound.

"Hold on, sir, do you see that in the distance?" DSR put her hand on Ralph's shoulder.

Ralph paused and squinted towards where DSR was pointing. Sure enough, there were figures lurking in the darkness in between the houses and in the forest as well. Judging by the way they were moving, they had to be more ELID.

"Shit. There's a lot of them," WA2000 noted, looking through her scope.

"It seems they are trying to block off our escape route," G36 said, her voice perfectly calm even in this situation.

Ralph had to agree with that assessment. "Yeah, which means that someone had definitely planned this out after all. We were either flanked by these ELID when we were fighting the other pack in the direction we just came from, or whoever our enemy is was keeping these ELID locked up in the houses and released them when they saw us heading in this direction. Either way, we'll have to turn around. If they've stacked the ELID over here, then there must be less in the other direction."

"And what if there aren't? What if there's just as many?" OTs-39 asked, clutching her SMG closely.

Ralph laughed. "Then we'll die, I suppose. We have to take that chance regardless."

Without giving any of the other Dolls a chance to argue, Ralph turned around and began heading back towards the center of town, though he tried to stay out of the main street. _Damn… If I were by myself, then I might have a chance of sneaking off. And it's not as if I can just abandon these T-Dolls; if I did, I would definitely never get a chance to go on another mission ever again._

When they passed by the house they had been in, Ralph stopped briefly to try and discern any more ELID movements. He couldn't hear or see any in this direction, though the ones behind him were still advancing upon them. He glanced at the T-Dolls and saw that they were all looking to him, some of them with frightened eyes and others with hopeful expressions.

They were all counting on him to get them out of this situation, which was a strange feeling for Ralph. He had been in charge of numerous small squads back in Africa, but the command structure there was so loose and individualistic that he never really felt responsible for anyone. Now, however, the lives of these T-Dolls depended on his orders; he could not simply write off their deaths as having nothing to do with him, as he had done so many times in the past when one of his fellow militia members fell in combat.

"Is something wrong, sir?" Kar98k asked, wondering why Ralph was silent for so long.

"No. Let's go."

However, before they could get a move on again, something large suddenly rushed towards them. The thing sprinted out of the forest, and when it came into the moonlight, it appeared to be a large, muscular, humanoid mass of flesh. Before anyone could react, it swung one of its arms and smashed Ralph's ribs, tossing him onto the grass.

The T-Dolls immediately started firing, their weapons certainly giving away their positions, but eliminating the threat in front of them was far more important. The huge creature let out a gurgling noise as the bullets pierced its flesh, but it somehow kept moving. It managed to grab WA2000's arm and then twisted it brutally, causing her metallic bones to snap and eliciting a shriek of pain from her.

The creature fell shortly after due to the combined onslaught from the T-Dolls, and DSR delivered the finishing headshot from a crouched position she took up a few meters away from her target. Unfortunately, the damage had been done, and now any ELID in the vicinity clearly knew where they were positioned.

As a Kar98k and DSR tended to WA2000, the rest of the Dolls went over to Ralph, who was cringing in pain and still lying on the ground.

"Sir. Can you move?" G36 asked.

"Ugh… Fuck. I think my ribs are broken," he managed, his voice strained.

"Should I help you up, sir?" A-91 reached out a hand.

"Your drunk ass wouldn't be able to support him!" OTs-39 berated A-91.

M590 gave Ralph a worried look, then turned to G36. "Will he be all right? We need to leave this area immediately."

G36 reached out and pressed on Ralph's ribs, causing him to yell in pain.

"Agh! Fuck! What the fuck is wrong with you, you bitch!?" Ralph glared at the blonde German.

G36 was unperturbed by the insult. "It seems his ribs are just bruised, not broken. Commander, please bear with the pain for now and stand up. We need to keep moving."

Though Ralph was in no mood to do that right now, he knew following that advice was preferable to a gruesome death at the hands of the ELID, so he complied. He slowly tried to get up, wincing as G36 and M590 helped him stand as gently as they could.

Ralph made it to his feet, though he was in great discomfort. The pain now was even worse than when he had been thrown through several walls by Kinkaid back in Thailand.

M590 handed him his dropped weapon as she glanced warily at the corpse of the thing that attacked them. "What was that? Was it an ELID?"

"Yes, an advanced form," Ralph said, still fighting through the pain. "Those types don't just form in one day, so that pretty much confirms that this was a planned and coordinated attack. Someone released that thing in this town, and there could be more, so be on the lookout."

He then glanced at WA2000, who was similarly struggling to recover. "What happened to you?"

"That thing broke my arm," WA2000 grit her teeth, keeping her snapped right arm close to her body.

"Can you shoot that with one hand?" Ralph asked, gesturing to her sniper rifle, which she now held solely in her left hand.

"Er… Not very accurately," WA2000 admitted.

"So you and I are pretty much deadweight now, eh?" Ralph smiled wryly. It hurt him just to breathe.

"Please. I can still do more than you ever could even if I only have one arm," WA2000 replied indignantly.

Ralph smirked. "I hope for all our sakes that you're not lying about that. Anyway, we do need to get moving. Let's go."

The echelon moved on away from the site of the dead ELID, though they could only move at a walking pace because of Ralph's injury.

"Would you like me to carry you, sir?" G36 offered.

"No, I'm fine," Ralph insisted. If G36 were carrying him she wouldn't be able to fire her weapon, and with WA2000's injury, that wasn't a loss in firepower they could afford. Also, Ralph still had some pride left.

"Understood, sir. However, in that case, I would suggest that you please increase your pace. We won't be able to outrun the enemy at this speed," the German assault rifle Doll stated professionally.

Ralph shot her a glare, but he couldn't really argue since she was correct. He upped his pace to a brisk jog, and the rest of his squad followed suit. The throbbing in his ribs protested this action heavily, but he forced himself to ignore the pain. He had been through worse, but as he contemplated the situation they were in, he wondered if he wasn't about to make a few more bad memories tonight…


	13. Village of Dreams III

**10/02/2024**

 **2200 hours**

 **Pushkino, Russia**

DSR-50 scanned the town from her position atop M590's shoulders.

"The interior looks clear. There's nobody in the town square," DSR-50 reported, lowering her sights as M590 set her down.

The echelon was currently taking cover in a small forested area of the town, trying to avoid detection from the ELIDs or whoever else was watching them.

Ralph ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Then it's likely that all the ELID have somehow been directed to the outskirts of the town, with the main goal of stopping us from escaping."

"Commander, we can break through, can't we?" A-91 suggested, still slightly slurring her words even in a situation like this. "We launch an all-out assault on the perimeter, find a weak link in their line, and then escape."

Ralph shook his head. "That will never work. Firstly, if whoever is coordinating the ELID is smart, they've undoubtedly got the entire circumference covered, meaning that if we attempt to break through at any one point, the ELID can just converge on us and overwhelm us. Also, even if we do manage to break through, where will we go? I know the general direction back to base, but I'm still not too familiar with this area, so there is a chance we could be slowed or blocked by waterways, hills, dead ends, or whatever."

"T-Then what are we supposed to do? Sit in this town and wait to die?!" OTs-39 cried out in despair.

"Haha!" Ralph laughed, but immediately regretted it as his ribs protested. "... I don't plan on dying just yet. You see the big clocktower in the distance? I want to go up there and get a full view of the town. That will allow us to see if there are any weak spots in the perimeter defense and at least give us a chance of breaking through."

"So our objective is to clear a path to the clocktower?" Kar98k asked for confirmation.

"Quietly, yes. If we get swarmed by ELID on the way there or even while we're inside the clocktower, it's all over," Ralph said. "Let's move out."

With M590 taking point again, the group crept forward in the dark, eerily quiet roads of Pushkino. They passed by empty houses and stores, which made it clear that the enemy was indeed moving the ELID around instead of letting them wander close by to the positions they were in when they were initially infected.

The echelon paused for a moment's respite behind another house, mostly because the Dolls could see that their commander was struggling. Ralph leaned against the house's wall, panting softly and trying to fight through the pain.

"Sir, are you sure someone shouldn't carry you?" M590 asked with concern.

Frustrated, Ralph shook his head. "I'm fine. Let's keep going."

The group darted forward again, edging closer to the clocktower. The tower seemed to be built on the outskirts of the main square, and they were now getting closer to the farmland portion of Pushkino, which was where Ralph's squad had come for their mission a few days ago. They stopped behind a small shop as they scanned the streets and houses to make sure that the way forward was clear.

"Sir," G36 spoke up quietly, "can we be sure that the enemy isn't tracking us? If so, they could be setting up a trap right now."

Ralph hadn't thought about that. "We don't know who the enemy is or what capabilities they have, so we don't know if they are capable of tracking us in the darkness and picking us out from the numerous ELID in the city. It would probably be easier if they had a drone or something, but they clearly aren't employing anything like that, so who knows. Either way, we can't change our plan just based on that."

"Understood," G36 replied, and the group kept moving.

The clocktower was now within reach, and the echelon went up to the tall, stone structure without any trouble. The lights inside the tower were all off, and the big wooden door in front of the entrance was closed.

"Hopefully it isn't locked," Ralph said.

He was about to go up to the door and try and pry it open, but he couldn't shake what G36 had said to him. If the enemy was watching, then could there be ELID waiting inside the tower? And even if they weren't watching, it was entirely possible that they still could have predicted Ralph's strategy of going for the clocktower and placed ELID inside in advance.

Ralph backed away from the door. "M590, open it. Keep your shields up. Everyone else, prepare to fire in case there are hostiles inside."

The shotgun T-Doll cautiously made her way over to the door, slowly reaching out for the handle as her other hand maintained a firm grip on her weapon in case she needed to use it. The remaining Dolls stood at the ready, aiming their sights on the door.

Before M590 could even touch the door, it was smashed open with resounding force, sending the wooden door and the T-Doll flying. Another one of those large, bulky ELIDs emerged, roaring out a horrid gurgle as it ran out of the tower. This was one was even bigger than the last one they faced.

"Fire, fire!" Ralph ordered as he backed up, shooting his AK-47 at the huge monster.

Once again, bullets from the T-Dolls' weapons didn't do much other than annoy the huge ELID, and though the two healthy snipers tried to aim for headshots, the way the ELID charged at them and swung around its arms and feet made it difficult for them to aim properly because they had to dodge the attacks as well. One blow from that thing could easily maim a T-Doll, as they all had seen with WA2000 earlier.

"This is bullshit," Ralph cursed. He stopped shooting because he knew all it was doing was just adding more noise and inevitably attracting more ELID to their location.

Instead, he went over to M590, who was lying underneath the large wooden door, her shotgun on the ground a few meters away. She looked to be too dazed to get the door off by herself, so Ralph dropped his weapon and tried to lift it off her. However, that ended badly as his ribs screamed out, and he was forced to abandon that endeavor as he cursed in pain and hunched over, his hands on his knees.

Luckily M590 recovered quickly, and with some effort, she lifted the door and threw it to the side. "Sir, are you all right?"

"Hah, I should be asking you that," Ralph shot back, but he had to admit that she did look a lot better than he did.

"I don't think anything is broken, so I'm fine," M590 answered, picking up her gun. She then glanced at the battle taking place, watching as the ELID missed smashing A-91 into the ground, who only just stumbled out of the way.

"Okay, then I have a plan. Hey, OTs! Get over here!" Ralph yelled.

The submachine gun Doll sprinted over, eager to get away from the ELID. "Sir! What is it?"

"We're going to trip up that ELID. You're acting as bait," Ralph told her.

"W-What?!" OTs-39 stammered.

"It's not _too_ dangerous. Just go stand right in front of it, just out of its reach. When it lunges for you, sidestep out of the way. You can do that, right?"

OTs-39 didn't look happy about that. "Why me!"

"You're an SMG Doll, so you're the smallest and the fastest out of all of us. You have the best chance of survival," Ralph said. "That alone probably won't be able to trip the ELID, though. M590, while OTs is distracting the ELID, run up behind it. As it lunges for her, use your shields to ram into the thing's Achilles' heel. That should be enough to tip it over, and when that happens, the other Dolls can easily focus all their firepower on its head and eyes."

"Yes, sir!" M590 nodded.

OTs-39 looked much less enthusiastic, but she had no choice but to go along with her commander's orders. Nervously, she ran in front of the ELID, making sure to put herself close to it but not close enough that it could actually reach her.

"Die, monster!" She yelled, spraying her SMG at the ELID.

Predictably the bullets had no effect, but the ELID nevertheless moved to eliminate her, and it leaned over to reach out its fist in order to squash her. At this time, OTs-39 jumped backwards, and M590, who had circled around the ELID, ran full speed at the the ELID's legs, crouching low to the ground and angling her shields towards it before launching herself at the undead beast. The ELID lost its balance and tipped over, smashing onto the ground. The assault rifle and sniper T-Dolls took that opportunity to finish it for good, pouring bullets into the thing until its head was nothing more than a pile of unrecognizable rotting mush.

"That worked out well," Ralph noted, pleased with how that went. _This ELID was bigger than the last one and obviously isn't a product of the most recent infection, just like the other big ELID._

"Commander, this firefight has most likely attracted the attention of the other ELID," G36 warned after she finished reloading.

"I know. DSR, get up to the top of the clocktower and look out the window underneath the clock. See if there are any spots around the perimeter that we can break through. I don't think there are any enemies left inside, but if there are, just retreat," Ralph told her. "And make it quick because I'm sure the enemy is converging on our position as we speak."

"Yes, sir," DSR replied before running inside the clocktower.

Ralph and the rest of the T-Dolls waited outside the clocktower, their weapons at the ready. Though there was no sound of any approaching enemies so far, they would certainly arrive soon, and that put them all on edge. The commander was particularly uncomfortable due to the constant, throbbing pain in his ribs, and he was really regretting not bringing any chewing tobacco along, which would have helped him calm his nerves somewhat.

The sound of footsteps on stone resounded from behind them, causing them to let out a breath of relief. DSR-50 emerged from the tower.

"We're completely surrounded. Like you said, Commander, the enemy has placed swarms of ELID around the entire perimeter," DSR broke the bad news. "However, there is one area that we can go. To the east of here is farmland, and there are no ELID there. If we go that way it will lead us farther away from the base, but we can at least avoid the ELID and circle around to leave Pushkino without running into them."

Ralph nodded. "Let's do that, then. We can't afford to wait around here any longer."

As soon as he finished saying that, the sound of gurgling and footsteps could be heard above the faint night ambience. The enemy was upon them, and they were advancing quickly.

" _Scheisse_ , they're here! Should we run?" WA2000 asked.

"Not much else we can do! Lead the way, DSR!" Ralph ordered.

The echelon ran toward the fields, breaking out of the relative confines of the town proper and finding themselves in open farmland in a matter of minutes. Fields of wheat stretched out before them, their golden luster dulled in the night. Beside them were also fields of green crops like corn, though there were a few empty fields with unseeded rows of dirt too. There was a large grain mill in the distance as well as a small tin shack, and closer to them was another tower made of stone, though this one was shorter than the clocktower.

"Can we outrun them?" Kar98k asked, nervously glancing over her shoulder as the sounds from the ELID grew louder.

"Not likely. This is more or less an open field, and the ELID don't have to worry about stamina," Ralph said. The exacerbated burning in his ribs was also telling him to stop running.

"Then I suggest we take refuge in that shack or that tower. It will be easier to defend our position that way," G36 counseled.

"Yeah, let's head to that tower. It's closer than the shack, and it offers a better vantage point. It also has windows that we can fire out of," Ralph decided.

The group ran as fast as they could to the stone tower, and like the clocktower inside the town, there was also a large wooden door on this one. Luckily M590 opened the door easily this time, and there were no hidden enemies lurking inside either.

"Good, it seems we can lock this door," Ralph said as he inspected the large sliding bolt on the door. "It won't hold out against a large horde of ELID, but at the very least, it can stand up to a stray few who manage to get past our bullets."

The inside of the tower was completely empty save for a staircase that led up to the top floor. The stones in the tower looked old and unreliable, and near the entrance of the tower, there were even a few that were clearly coming loose, allowing some moonlight in. Ralph and the Dolls went up to the top floor, which was also fairly bare. There was a small cot in the corner as well as a chair by one of the windows, but aside from that, it was empty. There were four windows on the top floor, one on every wall.

"G36, A-91, take the window to the front. Kar, you take the window to the left, and DSR, you're on the one on the right. You two have longer range, so see if you can lean out a bit and aim for the front as well, because that's where the enemies will be coming from," Ralph ordered. "M590 and OTs, you two should guard the staircase in case any of the ELID break through."

The T-Dolls all went to take up their assigned positions, leaving only Ralph and WA2000 with nothing to do.

"I can still fight too, you know," WA2000 pouted at being unable to contribute.

"It will be hard for you with only one arm. You might have an easier time on that front window, but they can really only fit two people, and I would rather have those two than a one-armed Doll," Ralph simply said as he took a seat on the cot, trying to catch his breath.

WA2000 glanced down at her messed up arm. "Tch… This just had to happen now…"

Ralph winced in pain as he gingerly poked at his ribs. "Yes, people get injured in battle. That's usually when it happens."

"That's not what I meant," WA2000 glared at him. "It's just that in our last major operation, I wasn't of much help either. You all went down into the Cage without me, and all I did was wait stupidly while everyone was getting shot up down there. This time… It's just more of the same."

"Hm? Didn't know that you cared so much about your teammates," Ralph noted, slightly surprised.

"I'm a T-Doll. My job is to fight," WA2000 stated. "If I can't even do that, then… What purpose do I have? I guess you wouldn't understand because you're more than happy to let others do the work for you, but I'm different. This isn't how I'm supposed to be performing…"

Ralph laughed, forgetting again that he shouldn't do that because of his injury. "Ugh, fuck… But we're not in disagreement there, WA. I didn't ask for a useless T-Doll who gets injured so quickly into the mission."

WA2000 burned with rage at that, but she couldn't come up with a counterargument. It was her who said it first, after all.

"If you're really that upset about it, then work twice as hard in the next mission," Ralph then said. "Assuming we all survive, of course."

"Hmph. I will, and I don't need you to tell me that."

"Enemy in sight," G36 let the group know.

Ralph stood up. "All right, whenever they're within range, fire."

He also went up to the front window and took a look outside. A large group of ELID had emerged from the town and were now advancing upon their position. Fortunately there were no more of the larger ELIDs in the crowd, but the size of the group was alarming; there looked to be at least two hundred of them.

"Damn, there's a lot of them," Ralph muttered. He almost wanted to set up beside A-91 and fire into the horde as well, but there wasn't enough space for him and he would probably just get in their way.

He went down the steps and patted M590 on the shoulder. "There's about two hundred ELID approaching our position. It's likely that we won't be able to get all of them, so some might break through. If it gets overwhelming down here, then you two should come back upstairs."

"Roger that, sir," M590 acknowledged.

OTs-39 made no reply, but she looked even more frightened than she was when she was facing the huge ELID.

 _Well, hopefully they don't die,_ Ralph thought as he headed back up the steps and the first shots were fired.

Ralph could only watch from behind as G36 and A-91 took shots at the ELID horde, slowly thinning out their numbers. DSR-50 and Kar98k were also firing their rifles, though their awkward positioning and slow rate of fire made it hard for them to kill off the enemy fast enough. Worse still, Ralph noticed that both G36 and A-91 were rapidly running out of spare ammo, and the two German snipers were probably in a similar situation.

 _Fuck, maybe it would have been better to run instead of staying here to fight_.

He had no idea how large the attacking force was in the first place, and he had to admit that he had almost completely forgotten about their ammo situation, mainly because he himself wasn't doing much shooting, and so he still had plenty of ammo. Also, whenever he got low on ammo in previous operations, he could always discard his gun and pick up one from a dead enemy, though that wouldn't be possible on this mission.

 _If they run out, I can give G36 or A-91 my AK,_ he figured. Dolls were much less efficient and less accurate when they were using weapons other than the specific type they were programmed to synchronize with, but it was better than nothing.

"They're not dying fast enough," WA2000 made the same observation as Ralph had.

"Yeah, we'll be overwhelmed at this rate," Ralph scratched the back of his head. "We need to reduce their numbers to below fifty before they reach the door. We won't be able to hold off any more than that."

"Well? Do you have a plan?" WA2000 pressed, nervously glancing out the window at the ELID.

"Hm…" Ralph looked down at his weapon. "Perhaps. Though it could end badly for us if it fails."

"I don't like the sound of that," WA2000 frowned.

Ralph shrugged. "Hey, if you've got an idea, let's hear it. Otherwise we'll just hope for the best."

"Commander, I am out of ammunition," G36 interrupted their conversation.

" _Blyad_! I am out as well," A-91 cursed.

"Here," Ralph handed A-91 his gun. "You're Russian, so hopefully you can use this somewhat well. Just don't touch the grenade launcher."

"You got it, sir!" A-91 saluted, then took the weapon as well as a swig from her flask before heading back to the window.

"Hey! Now's not the time to be drinking!" WA chided her, but naturally the Russian ignored that.

G36 spared a glance out the window, her usual professional expression replaced with a momentary flash of worry. "Commander, they are nearly at our doorstep. There are still more than a quarter of them remaining."

"I'm out of ammo," Kar98k frowned, stepping away from her window.

Ralph turned to her. "Can you use WA's sniper?"

"Er, I've never tried it, but I think I might be able to manage," Kar98k said,

" _Viel gluck_ ," WA2000 wished Kar98k well as she handed over her rifle, though she still looked a bit reluctant to do so.

A banging noise came from downstairs, and that then changed into a series of bangs. The ELID were quite literally knocking on the door now.

"Stay here, WA," Ralph told the now-unarmed Doll as he unsheathed his machete. "A-91! When you run out of ammo, bring me the gun!"

Ralph ran downstairs, where he found M590 and OTs-39 preparing for battle. The wooden door bounced with each knock, and it creaked and groaned as the ELID threatened to knock it down for good.

"It's only a matter of time before they get inside," M590 said. Ralph noticed that she was breathing slightly heavily, though he couldn't tell if it was because she was nervous or if she actually had been injured by the large ELID from earlier.

"W-Well, at least our bullets can harm these types of ELID," OTs-39 stated, trying to convince herself that their situation wasn't completely hopeless.

"Luckily blades can cut through their soft skin too," Ralph grinned clanging his machete against the stone wall.

"Commander… Are you sure you should be down here with your injury?" M590 questioned.

"Eh, probably not, but I'll try not to get myself killed."

As soon as he finished that sentence, the door came crashing down with a bang. ELID immediately started pouring through the entrance, and M590 fired her buckshot, incapacitating three ELID with one pull of her trigger. OTs-39 also sprayed her weapon at them, not taking time to aim since she would undoubtedly hit the enemy at such close proximity anyway.

Ralph hung back for now, not wanting to get in front of the T-Dolls' fire. However, it was becoming clear that M590 and OTs-39 could not hold the ELID off, and far more were coming inside than were being killed.

M590 and OTs-39 began backing up the steps as they ELID surged forward, and one of the zombies managed to grab M590's arm, interrupting her reload and threatening to pull her down into the deadly mosh pit. Ralph reached over and cut the ELID's arm off with his machete, though the exertion from that strike was felt sharply in his ribs.

"Commander, we have to retreat up the steps!" M590 warned.

"Not yet! Hold them off for a few more seconds!" Ralph called out above the gnawing cries of the ELID.

He started to rush upstairs and reclaim his AK-47, but A-91 met him halfway and handed him his gun back before he could get fully up the steps.

"Oh fuck!" A-91 exclaimed at seeing all the ELID pouring through the entrance. "Sorry, I couldn't get that many of them, sir!"

"That's fine," Ralph said, loading his final grenade into his launcher. "All right, everyone back up!"

Seeing what their commander was about to do, M590 and OTs-39 retreated up the steps. Ralph also took a few steps up, leaning down just enough to fire his grenade launcher at the weak spot in the stones he had noted earlier.

The projectile was sent off with a pop, and it smashed into the front of the entrance and exploded. Stones came raining down on the ELID below, and the smashing of the stones had caused a chain reaction, making some of the other weaker stones fall as well. Soon enough, most of the front of the tower had collapsed, and the falling stones buried the ELID underneath. When the debris finally cleared, the remnants of the ELID horde had been completely wiped out.

"They're finally gone," Kar98k said with relief, having come down along with the rest of the Dolls after hearing the crashing noises.

"Yeah, though this was a pyrrhic victory. Nobody here has any ammo left, and we can't use this tower as a stronghold anymore either. Our only option now is to run as far away from here as we can, and avoid any more enemies on the way out," Ralph said.

"Then we should move now, as this made a lot of noise," G36 advised. "Commander, allow me to carry you now. Since I no longer have any ammunition, it shouldn't affect my battle performance."

Ralph still did not want to be carried, but he had to admit that all his excuses were gone now. "Fine, but put me down if it slows you down too much. A-91, hold onto my weapon."

G36 picked Ralph up bridal-style, making sure to avoid touching his injured side. Nevertheless, the commander still grunted in pain from the shifting and movement.

"All right, DSR, can you get us back on our original track?" Ralph asked, feeling a bit ridiculous giving orders while he was lying in the arms of a girl smaller than him.

"Yes, sir." DSR-50 began climbing over the rubble, prompting the rest of the group to follow suit.

As the echelon emerged from the now-ruined tower and came back into the open fields, they could already hear the sound of ELID again.

"Fucking shit!" Ralph cursed upon hearing that, genuine frustration and anger in his voice. "What the fuck is this bullshit? This is a fucking suicide mission, how did G&K not see this coming? They're fucking endless! Fuck you, Helian! Fuck!"

"Are you done now?" WA2000 frowned at the conclusion of his rant. "You literally look like a baby throwing a tantrum the way you're shouting while in her arms like that."

Though he was pissed off, he had to admit that the image he was giving off to the T-Dolls must be a ridiculous one. "Haha! You're probably right about that. Anyway, my complaining isn't going to save us, so let's keep moving. We either outrun them or we die."

All too glad to follow those instructions, the T-Dolls took off at a brisk pace, running away from the sounds of the ELID, which were growing closer by the minute. Soon enough, another horde could be seen emerging from the town and heading out into the fields. This one was only about thirty ELID strong, but that was still a huge number to face off against when nobody had any ammo left.

"Oh, no, they're going to catch up," OTs-39 said worriedly as she looked over her shoulder.

Ralph took a look as well, his ribs throbbing in agony with every step that G36 took. "They're going slower than us, but not even T-Dolls can run forever, especially if we increase our speed. With so much open field in front of us, it's entirely possible that they'll reach us before we can escape…"

"Commander, now is not the time to be defeatist!" DSR-50 sighed.

Before Ralph could reply, a figure emerged from the tin shack that they were about to run past. Thankfully it was a human and not an ELID, and it was one who Ralph and his T-Dolls recognized too: Sergeyevich.

" _Privyet_ , Commander Ralphie! I thought it was you! Looks like you're certainly having fun!" Sergeyevich greeted. He held a shotgun in his hands and an AK-47 was strapped to his back.

"Good evening! So you're still alive, huh? But anyway, now's not the time to talk!" Ralph shouted at him.

Sergeyevich only laughed. "Hahaha! _Da_ , I can see that group of zombies chasing you. You won't outrun them like that. We have ammo and weapons inside the shack. We can make a stand here, no?"

Ralph only had a few seconds to make a decision. It was true that they probably couldn't outrun the ELID, and they really did need the ammo. He thought about just stealing the ammo from Sergeyevich and then making a run for it, but there were too many things that could go wrong with that plan, not to mention that it would take up a fair amount of precious time.

"All right. Girls, stop here," Ralph ordered. "You can put me down, G36."

Ralph was back on his own feet now, and he, Sergeyevich, and the Dolls all headed inside the tin shack. The inside was fairly small and dark, with only a single lightbulb illuminating the space. Sure enough, another AK and a few boxes of ammo were there, as well as what seemed to be some explosives. The explosives looked to be similar to C4, though they were much bigger and were too bulky to hurl at the enemy. There was a switch that presumably was the detonator, but the only way these explosives could be useful was if they rigged the shack with them and then ran away, which would be impossible in this current situation.

There was also another person inside who was armed with an AK-47. It was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes, and Ralph thought he looked familiar.

"Hey, you're that kid from earlier, aren't you?" Ralph asked, stepping over to him.

"Uh… Yes," the young man managed nervously, speaking in heavily-accented English.

"That's Fyodor. He can't speak English very well, but he can understand it. You know him, Commander Ralphie?" Sergeyevich asked.

Fyodor glanced at DSR-50, who smiled at him. He quickly averted his gaze and blushed heavily.

"Oh, yes, that's right! This bastard tried to hit on one of your Dolls, hahah!" Sergeyevich chuckled, slapping Fyodor on the back and nearly knocking him over.

Ralph smirked at him. "Fyodor, is it? You've got guts to do something like that. But anyway, there's a horde of ELID approaching, so that should probably be our first priority."

"Ah, yes. Fyodor and I had holed up in here after everything went to shit, though we don't really understand what's going on," Sergeyevich shook his head. "We thought we were finished when we heard that first large horde approaching, but luckily you all took care of them for us! This pack appears to be much smaller. Surely this is no match for you, right?"

"Yeah, uh, we're mostly out of ammo," Ralph was forced to admit.

Sergeyevich's eyes widened. "Good God, why didn't you say that first! My apologies, but we only have Kalashnikov ammo. There is a spare gun lying over there, and one of your Dolls can have mine. Fyodor! Give them yours too."

Sergeyevich and Fyodor handed their weapons and spare magazines to Ralph, who distributed them to A-91 and G36, taking back his own gun from A-91 in the process. "You two, take position outside and thin that horde. Don't waste any shots."

"Yes, sir," G36 saluted and went outside, A-91 following after taking another drink from her flask.

Ralph then went about reloading his own AK-47 with a fresh magazine. He turned to the remaining T-Dolls. "Can anyone here shoot an AK well?"

The Dolls glanced at each other before Kar98k spoke up. "We can probably shoot it well enough, but not as accurately as we use our own weapons."

"Yes, I know that already," Ralph frowned, not getting the answer he was looking for.

He decided that he might as well just shoot it himself, especially since he had been using AK-47s and AK knockoffs for pretty much his entire soldiering career. He went outside and took up position beside G36 and A-91, both of whom gave him surprised glances but then quickly went back to shooting at the ELID.

Ralph himself took slow, methodical shots, trying to hit each ELID in their head area if he could. His usual fighting style was to rush enemy positions, spray them, and then finish them with the machete, but that wouldn't work in this scenario. Nevertheless, G&K had taught him this type of shooting too, so he made his mark most of the time.

Sergeyevich came out and joined them shortly, blasting at the encroaching ELID with his shotgun. Slowly but surely, the quartet began eliminating the ELID, and within a few minutes, the entire pack had been cut down before it could reach the shed.

"Whew, they're finished," Sergeyevich wiped the sweat from his brow. "Thanks to you and your girls we were able to survive, Commander Ralphie. I doubt the boy and I could have handled that alone."

"I'm just glad you had the ammo to spare, or else we would have all ended up dead anyway," Ralph grinned.

The familiar gnawing noise and thud of footsteps sounded in the distance as soon as Ralph finished that sentence, causing him to groan.

Sergeyevich laughed. "I suppose you spoke too soon, Commander Ralphie!"


	14. Village of Dreams IV

**10/02/2024**

 **2300 hours**

 **Pushkino, Russia**

The next wave of ELID was still a fair distance away, so Ralph, Sergeyevich, and the two AR T-Dolls went back inside the shed for a moment's respite. Fyodor, who was sitting as far away from the rifle T-Dolls as he could, stood up when they returned.

"We took care of them, but there's more coming," Sergeyevich told him.

Fyodor's hopeful expression fell at that, and he sat back down.

"Ugh, it never ends," WA2000 complained. "Can't we make a run for it? If they are far enough away, we might be able to get away, right?"

Ralph nodded. "That's what I was about to say. We need to get moving now."

He went back outside with the T-Dolls, and Sergeyevich and Fyodor followed as well. Ralph didn't have a problem with those two coming along, but he wasn't planning on protecting them or stopping for breaks if they got tired or injured.

"Sir, shall I carry you again?" G36 offered.

"No, I'm fine. I've rested enough," Ralph replied. His ribs were still aching, but he had gotten somewhat used to it by now… Also he felt double the embarrassment at being carried now that Sergeyevich and Fyodor would be watching.

Suddenly, the all-too familiar whiz of a bullet cutting through the air sounded over their heads. The group whirled around to face the direction of the town to see the next group of ELID emerging out into the fields. This pack was around fifty enemies, but what was different about this group was that many of the ELID were dressed in degraded camo outfits and armed with actual weapons, indicating that they had previously been soldiers of some sort. As with the large ELID, the presence of these armed ELID again proved that some of the ELID in Pushkino had been placed there beforehand instead of being newly infected.

More bullets began flying towards the group, but due to the distance and the somewhat poor aim of the ELID, they did not come close to hitting anyone.

"Damn it, we can't escape like this. Considering this area is an open field, there's a good chance that they'll hit us eventually," Ralph noted. "We have to go back inside and take them out before we can leave."

Sergeyevich looked unsure. "But can we hold them off? These ones have weapons and -"

A stray bullet struck him in the neck, causing him to fall to the ground. Blood poured out rapidly even as the Russian farmer clutched at his wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Get inside!" Ralph ordered everyone, grabbing Sereyevich's feet and dragging him back into the shed.

Once inside, Fyodor ran over to Sergeyevich and knelt by his side, a horrified look on the boy's face as Sergeyevich rapidly bled out.

"Please, can you save him?" Fyodor looked up desperately at Ralph.

The commander sighed. "That bullet hit his carotid. He's done for."

The group stared helplessly at the dying man as his twitching slowed and he began to turn lethargic. Blood continued to flow freely from his neck wound.

Ralph sat down, sighing again. _All our medical supplies were in the Tigr… Though I doubt we could have saved him anyway._

Fyodor stood up from beside the corpse and went over to the cot in the corner and pulled the bedsheet from it. A pistol had been hidden under the pillow on the cot, and it tumbled out when Fyodor moved the sheet. However, he paid it no mind and put the sheet over Sergeyevich's body, then sat down on one of the spare chairs, his head in his hands.

"Hey, stop sulking. Be ready to fight. The enemy is still approaching," Ralph warned the young man as he went over to grab the pistol.

Fyodor looked up at him. "I am not soldier! I can't!"

"I don't give a fuck what you are or what you're not. You still need to do what you need to do," Ralph simply said.

"Sir, you shouldn't be so harsh," DSR-50 frowned.

A-91 then stood up, an expression of horror on her face as she looked into her flask. "No! It's all gone! There's none left!"

"Shut up! This isn't the time for that!" WA2000 yelled at her in disbelief.

"Fuck you, dumb German bitch! How will I survive without my vodka?!" A-91 shouted back, gesturing with her flask.

"Can you girls please not do this?" Kar98k tried to mediate.

"Uuuu… I'm thirsty, I need rations," OTs-39 then complained, slumping over in her seat.

"Yeah, a big bottle of water would be nice right about now," Ralph agreed. "Hey, A-91, if you shut the fuck up for the rest of this mission, I'll take you to the bar when this is over and pay for your drinks. Deal?"

A-91 threw herself at Ralph. "Really? _Khorosho_! I love you, Commander!"

"All right, all right," Ralph pushed her off him, then got up and took a quick look out the sole, small window in the shed. "They're getting closer, almost within the range where we can fire at them accurately."

"Where do I go after this…" Fyodor muttered.

Ralph turned to him. "What?"

"Where do I go?" Fyodor repeated, his accented voice strained with emotion. "My mother is dead. Sergeyevich dead. Everyone in town all dead."

"That's your problem, buddy," Ralph answered rather unhelpfully.

"Surely G&K has at least one program for war refugees?" Kar98k wondered.

Ralph shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I mean, I guess I'm sort of one myself, but I was a special case. I'll have to ask my sister."

"Oi, _malchik_ , if you have nowhere to stay, I'm sure DSR can take you in," A-91 teased, slinging an arm around Fyodor's shoulder.

Fyodor blushed. "Please stop! And you stink like vodka!"

"Why did you confess your love to DSR anyway? Do you two know each other?" Kar98k asked Fyodor, unable to suppress her curiosity.

"No…" Fyodor looked anywhere but at DSR herself. "I just see her from far… She is very beautiful, and she carry her gun with much strength, more than real soldiers… She very kind too when village children come to talk to her, and, um… I, um…"

"Wow, how sweet," Ralph grinned, enjoying Fyodor's embarrassment.

DSR-50 smiled. "Oh, my. I didn't know you were paying so much attention to me."

"I am sorry if I am rude," Fyodor apologized to her.

"No, not at all. I appreciate the praise," DSR-50 giggled.

"Hey, the rest of us are pretty cool too, right?" WA2000 asked.

Fyodor glanced at her. "Um… I'm sorry, I don't know who you are…"

Ralph burst out laughing, his ribs again punishing him for that. "Hahaha… Ow. Well, as much as I am enjoying this conversation, the enemy has arrived. We have to finish them quickly and then escape before another wave can find us."

The T-Dolls stood up in preparation, still with their mismatched weapons.

"Do you have a strategy in mind, sir?" M590 asked, probably hoping they wouldn't just have to stand there and tank hits from the enemy.

"What can we really do in this situation? There's no strategy that can save us," Ralph smirked. "We'll just have to fight until we fall. It's an open field and there's no cover, and they have more guns than we do. Our only advantage is that we're probably more accurate than they are, so hopefully we can kill them before they get us. M590, you take Sergeyevich's shotgun and then deploy your shields. A-91, G36, OTs, and I will try and stay behind you. Also, OTs, take this handgun… All right. The rest of you keep watch. If any one of us is taken out, pick up the weapon and continue the fight."

Ralph and the aforementioned four Dolls prepared to head out as Fyodor and the German snipers could only watch them.

"Wait!" Fyodor suddenly interrupted. "I want to fight!"

Ralph gave him a quizzical look. "You? Well, I wouldn't mind that, but there are no more weapons. You'll just have to wait in here."

Fyodor looked disappointed, but he sat back down nonetheless, understanding Ralph's logic.

Ralph and the T-Dolls went outside the tin shack, and when they did, the bullets immediately started flying. Ralph tried to stay behind M590, but her shields weren't very big to start with, and so he wasn't adequately covered at all. Her left side shield had also been smashed in by the ELID in the clocktower, so Ralph was forced to stick to her right side and fire his weapon from there.

"Aim for the ones with guns first!" Ralph called out over the noise.

The T-Dolls followed his orders, but there were too many of them to overcome in time, and the ELID horde was still advancing. Most of the bullets were missing, but one managed to hit M590 in the eye.

"Augh!" she cried out as she stumbled a bit, bringing a hand up to cover her left eye, which was squirting out blood.

Ralph steadied her. "You all right?"

She looked to be in pain, but she smiled at him. "I will be fine, sir… Wait, what is that?"

Now that the ELID frontliners had been cut down, they could see one of the ELID in the middle which was holding what appeared to be an RPG.

"What the -" was all Ralph managed before the ELID fired.

The rocket came shooting towards the group, and though it was aimed terribly, it still looked like it was going to land fairly close to them. M590 pushed Ralph out of the way and turned to face it with her shields, trying to absorb the impact to protect him and the two AR T-Dolls.

The projectile exploded at her feet, sending clouds of dust and tilled soil into the air. Ralph coughed as the debris cleared and bullets continued to whiz overhead, and when he opened his eyes, he saw M590's broken body lying a few meters away. Her legs had been blown off from below the knees, and her shields were smashed up for good this time. Her eyes were closed, and her white hair was blackened and in disarray. She rested in the disheveled dirt almost peacefully.

 _She's finished. At least her core looks to be intact,_ Ralph cringed as the ache in his ribs increased.

G36 rushed over to him and knelt down beside him. "Sir. Are you all right? Can you stand?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so," Ralph muttered, trying to get up. He glanced at the ELID horde and saw that they were still advancing. There were still plenty of shooters among the ELID, but luckily it looked like the RPG ELID only had that one rocket.

OTs-39 had unfortunately been too close to the explosion, and almost her entire right side had been blown away. She was coughing up blood and fluid weakly, but it was clear that she would die soon. A-91 was lying prone on the ground not too far away, but she seemed to be uninjured and was still firing back at the enemy.

"Here, allow me to assist you," G36 said, helping Ralph to his feet while making sure to avoid touching his ribs.

But bullets continued to fly, and when G36 and Ralph stood up, they became the prime targets for the enemy.

"Sir! It's too dangerous here!" G36 warned, now regretting standing up.

She put herself in front of Ralph, shielding him from the hail of bullets. A shot hit her in the head, piercing through her forehead and immediately dropping her to the ground. As Ralph ran back to the shack, he took a last look back at her. Her lifeless blue eyes stared into the empty night sky, meaning she was also out of commission.

"A-91! Get back in the shack!" Ralph yelled to the Russian T-Doll.

A-91 was still in her prone position, but unlike before, she was now facedown in the dirt, and her weapon had gone silent. Unable to do anything else, Ralph left the four corpses outside and dove back into the shack.

"What happened out there?" WA2000 asked worriedly as Ralph caught his breath.

He scowled at her. "Weren't you watching? They had a fucking RPG and just overwhelmed us from there."

"Now what? _Scheisse_ ," Kar98k cursed.

Ralph was beginning to feel like the situation was slipping out of his hands… Actually, he had felt that way ever since the Tigr had been destroyed, but it just kept getting worse and worse.

He glanced outside the entrance at the motionless bodies of M590, OTs-39, G36, and A-91. Both M590 and G36 had died protecting him, and though he knew that they were ordered to prioritize their commander's safety and that they were T-Dolls and could be brought back to life as long as their cores weren't destroyed, it still felt strange. In all his life, no one had ever died trying to protect him. He had been in charge of small militia groups before, but every single one of those soldiers were cutthroat vagrants who were almost more interested in looting, raping, and killing than completing the mission itself, and certainly none of them would ever do what his T-Dolls had did for him.

 _Guess machines really are better soldiers than humans,_ Ralph smirked to himself. _Humans aren't good for much, are they? Fyodor… This is the only thing we can do…_

"Commander? What are we going to do? The enemy is getting closer," DSR-50 asked him, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Ralph stood up. "Fyodor! You said you wanted to fight, right?"

The young Russian looked up at him. "B-But I thought you said -"

"No. Now is the time we need you the most," Ralph assured him. "Look."

The commander pointed to the large plastic explosives stacked in the corner of the shack. He lifted one of them and handed it to Fyodor.

"Stick this under your shirt and hold it. There are two others, so I'll put one on your back and hold it up using the waistband on your pants. Try carrying the third one in your hands," Ralph told him, picking up the other two explosive packs.

"What do I do with this?" Fyodor asked, confused.

"What do you mean? You're going to blow the enemy to hell and back," Ralph grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"Wait, you're sending him on a suicide bombing mission?!" WA2000 cried out.

"Yeah, so? It's the best way out of this situation. He can take out the entire pack this way," Ralph told her. He turned to Fyodor. "I'll use the detonator when you're close enough. Keep running even if you get hit with bullets!"

"Sir, isn't this a bit much?" Kar98k interjected.

Ralph turned to Fyodor, who looked to be both shocked and frightened. "What's wrong, kid? Didn't you say you wanted to fight? You're the only one who can do this. The T-Dolls will have their cores blown up if they try this, and I can't do it because there's no way my bruised ribs can handle the strain of carrying all that before I get to the horde. And sorry to say this, but T-Dolls and a Grifon commander have way more strategic value than a random villager, so it would make no sense for one of us to do it. You said everyone you know is dead, right? This is your chance to avenge them."

"Sir, there has to be another way," DSR-50 said sternly. "We can't seriously expect him to -"

"No, Miss DSR," Fyodor interrupted her. His voice was trembling, but he had a look of determination in his young blue eyes. "The Commander is right. Only I can do it. I don't want any of you to get hurt, and it is true. This is my village. It is my duty."

"Good, you understand," Ralph nodded in approval. "Go on then, Fyodor. Make Sergeyevich and the rest of your people proud."

DSR-50 still looked unsure. "But sir, can't we at least -"

"Miss DSR, thank you," Fyodor interrupted her once more. He smiled even as he was afraid.

The T-Dolls and Ralph watched silently as Fyodor ran out of the shack and towards the ELID, his shirt bulging on both sides from the plastic explosives jammed underneath it. Ralph looked on in anticipation, the detonator in his hand. The ELID tried to shoot at Fyodor, but he zigzagged, throwing off their already rudimentary aim.

However, one bullet still managed to hit him, causing him to drop to the ground. Ralph brought his hands to his head and cringed at that, but luckily the bullet appeared to have hit in a non-critical area, and Fyodor stood back up. The boy kept marching on even as bullets whizzed past him, and when he got closer he was hit again, then a third time.

Ralph decided that he had gone far enough, and he pressed the button on the detonator. A blast erupted from where Fyodor had been, throwing dirt into the air and sending shockwaves that reverberated throughout even the tin cabin. When it settled down, Ralph looked out the shattered window and saw that the ground was now littered in decayed body parts of the ELID, and that the entire pack had been obliterated.

 _Not bad,_ Ralph thought.

He had to admit that he was impressed. Back in Africa, if you ever needed to order a suicide charge, you would have to trick your soldiers into believing there was actually a chance of victory or you would have to pump them full of amphetamines, because there was no way they would knowingly go through with something like that. Fyodor, however, had willingly took on this suicide rush with almost no complaining.

"... So it's finally over," WA2000 said, staring at the small crater the explosion had created in the dirt.

"It was a noble sacrifice. At least we are safe now," Kar98k nodded.

DSR-50 sighed. "I wish there was more we could have done…"

Ralph himself went outside the shack, going over to the four dead T-Dolls and surveying them. They had been mostly unscathed by the explosion, though they were covered with a bit of dirt now.

"You three, get out here and help me pick up their bodies," Ralph ordered the Germans.

The snipers came out and picked up the corpses of M590, G36, and A-91. Ralph picked up OTs-39, who was the lightest and the only one he could carry due to his rib injury. They couldn't take the spare AK-47s with them, but it didn't matter anyway because they had almost no ammo left.

The familiar sound of footsteps and gurgling could be heard, but this time it was from a different direction. A pack of ELID emerged from the treeline in the direction that Ralph and the T-Dolls were planning to escape in. Though this group was smaller than the one that they just destroyed, they had no way of fighting it now that they were truly out of bullets.

"No way…" WA2000 moaned in despair.

"Oh, no. We can't even go back the way we came from because there are probably more of them in town too," DSR-50 sighed. Like the other two Dolls, her eyes were tired, betraying a feeling of defeat.

Ralph stared at the new ELID horde in utter disbelief. _Are you fucking kidding me!? All that for nothing? There's no way…_

This feeling of complete helplessness reminded Ralph of the Cage with AK-12 and AN-94, and that was not a memory he wanted to relive. He had fortunately survived that mission, but this was different.

 _No one's coming to save us this time, eh?_ He thought, smiling as the ELID horde advanced. He was all out of ideas.

But just as he finished that thought, the sound of a helicopter in the distance began to drown out the noises of the ELID pack. In a few seconds, a black Kamov helicopter came into view, heading straight for them. Ralph and the T-Dolls watched dumbly as the helicopter landed in between them and the ELID, and none other than Squad 404 emerged from inside.

The 404 Dolls immediately went to work. UMP45 threw a frag grenade at the ELID pack as she leapt from the helicopter, and HK416 launched one of her own from her grenade launcher. UMP9 provided support with her SMG, and even the normally-sleepy G11 was mowing down enemies with practiced precision. Within the span of a few minutes, the entire ELID horde had been eliminated.

UMP45 walked calmly over to Ralph and the German snipers as she reloaded her weapon. " _Guten abend_ , Commander Ralphie. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Uh, yeah… You were sent by Grifon?" Ralph asked, not sure of what to say.

"Well, how did you ever figure that one out?" UMP45 smiled humorlessly.

UMP9 ran over to them. "Hellooo, Commander Ralphie! And hello to you girls as well!"

"Hmph, looks like your echelon is in quite the pathetic state," HK416 smirked as she joined them.

"Why do we have to be on a mission this late…" G11 whined, going back to her usual self.

UMP45 looked Ralph over. "So, Commander, don't you have any word of thanks for us?"

"Why should I thank you? You're just doing as you were ordered to," Ralph frowned.

"Well, I suppose that much is true. And here I was hoping this would make you forgive us for betraying you in Bangkok," UMP45 sighed.

Ralph narrowed his eyes. "So you know that I know?"

"I do, yes," UMP45 smiled again.

Ralph wanted to do nothing more than put a bullet through that smug face of hers, but he was completely out of ammo right now and his squad was in no shape to be taking on 404.

"Don't give me that look, sir; it was just business. Of course, I have no intention of apologizing for it either," UMP45 told him. "However, I think our interests will actually align from now on, Commander Ralphie. I hope we can look forward to a new partnership together."

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, but if you really want to make up for that, you can start by getting us out of here," Ralph replied gruffly.

"Yes, sir. Let's board the helicopter and exit, then."

The Dolls all got on the helicopter, and Ralph and the three German snipers put the dead T-Dolls on the floor of the helicopter as they took their seats, finally glad to be leaving the hellish town. UMP45 had taken the seat next to Ralph and was uncomfortably close to him, something he was sure she had done on purpose.

The pilot remained silent as he or she lifted off, and soon enough, they were on their way out. Ralph looked out the window and tried to get a glimpse of the perimeter of Pushkino, as if that would give him a clue of what the fuck had actually happened and who the mastermind behind this disaster was. However, when he glanced outside, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and there were no more ELID swarms visible. He didn't know if whoever was in control had just packed up and left when 404 arrived, or if 404 themselves had taken care of them. There was a lot he didn't know.

As they flew in the darkness back towards the G&K HQ, Ralph couldn't hold in his curiosity any longer.

"So… What exactly happened here?" Ralph asked UMP45.

She turned to him. "Hm? Shouldn't you be telling us that?"

Ralph gave her a flat look. "You're really telling me you know nothing?"

"Well, I guess you're allowed to know. This seems to have been set up by Sangvis Ferri, primarily," UMP45 answered him.

"Sangvis Ferri? Since when do they have ELID they can deploy?"

"That's what confused us too. Sangvis Ferri doesn't use ELID nor did we know that they had access to the virus, but we clearly detected Dreamer's signature when we got here," UMP45 said.

 _Dreamer? That bitch from the Cage?_ Ralph recalled.

"Securing you and your squad was our main objective, so unfortunately Dreamer has escaped," UMP45 continued, "but that still leaves the question of who set up the ELID here. Do you know of the group called Paradeus, Commander?"

"Paradeus…? Don't think so."

"Understandable. They are a group that deal heavily with the ELID virus, though we don't know exactly what their motives are aside from the fact that they have a strange obsession with ELID. Only the highest ranked commanders have access to this information within G&K," UMP45 explained. "We think that Paradeus aided Sangvis Ferri in this operation for some reason."

"Great, so now there's a third party in all of this?" Ralph sighed.

"You mean fourth," UMP45 corrected. "Right now, the main enemies of G&K are Sangvis Ferri and whoever AK-12 and AN-94 are working for. We also have to watch out for Paradeus, and the Russian military isn't exactly a friend of ours either."

"This is getting too complicated," Ralph decided. He really didn't want to get caught up in this four-way war or whatever it was that G&K was about to get themselves into. He had goals of his own.

"I know, right? That's exactly what I thought!" UMP9 agreed. "G11 probably feels the same way. Right, G11?"

The T-Doll in question was fast asleep and drooping in her seat, her gun threatening to fall from her arms and clatter onto the floor.

"This _dummkopf_ …" 416 glared at G11, barely resisting the urge to smack her.

"Have the ELID all been eliminated, then?" Ralph asked UMP45 for confirmation.

" _Ja_ , we believe so. The helicopter's tracking and infrared radar don't show any remaining hostiles in this area. Just to make sure, G&K is sending a few more echelons down here to comb out the town as soon as they become available," UMP45 told him.

"We just happened to be in the area, so that's why we were able to get here fastest," 416 added onto that.

Ralph didn't ask any more questions after that, choosing instead to sit in silence and give his eyes and mind a rest. His ribs were still aching him, but now that they were heading back to base, he could get treatment for that. More importantly, the fact that the ELID had all been eradicated meant that the mission was successful… Though he wasn't sure how command was going to take it considering that the entire town's population had been wiped out and that he needed support from Squad 404 to even come out of it alive.

 _Whatever. It's not my fault that G &K completely misread the scale of this operation, _he reasoned.

Soon the helicopter landed in one of the pads by the HQ, and Ralph and the Dolls disembarked.

"We'll handle these corpses and get them to the repair bay. Miss Helian is waiting for you four," UMP45 told Ralph's echelon.

"All right." Before Ralph turned to leave, he asked UMP45 a final question. "By the way, you said earlier that our interests will align from now on. What did you mean by that?"

UMP45 smiled at him. "You'll find out soon enough, sir."

It was clear that UMP45 wasn't willing to say anymore, and Ralph was in no mood for this anyway, so he just began walking towards the HQ building with the remainder of his squad. No words were shared between them, and all four of them looked ready to collapse from physical and mental exhaustion at any moment.

Nevertheless, they made it to the building, which was still lit up even this late into the night. The lobby was empty save for a couple receptionists, and since UMP45 didn't tell Ralph exactly where Helian was waiting, he assumed that she was in her office and just led his T-Dolls there. Thankfully, Helian was indeed there, and she looked up from her computer as the four of them entered.

"You're back," she said.

"Yup. No thanks to you," Ralph replied.

Helian sighed. "So you're angry after all. Surely you realize that there's no possible way we could have known that this is how the situation would end up."

"No, but you did say before the mission that something like this could happen. Yet you did nothing to prepare us for it," Ralph scowled.

Helian returned his frown. "And I told you to retreat in that scenario. Why didn't you?"

"How the fuck could we retreat? They blew up our vehicle and surrounded all the exits!" Ralph shot back.

Helian's expression softened slightly. "I see. I suppose some of the blame does lie with us, yes, but there's no point in discussing that right now. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and move on. What happened to the other Dolls that went with you?"

"They're dead, but their cores are still intact," Ralph said.

"Fine. They can be repaired, then, though it will be expensive," Helian nodded. "And you? Are you all right?"

"I think I might have bruised my ribs," Ralph answered, pressing on his side gingerly.

"Then you should head to the medical bay as soon as possible. Hold off on submitting the after-action report until you've gotten some rest," Helian said. "On that note, I should let you go. We'll discuss this further tomorrow, and I doubt you want to stand here any longer."

"Wait," Ralph stopped her, "what about the mission rewards?"

"Rewards?" Helian repeated. "You'll get the usual compensation. What else were you hoping for?"

Ralph gave her an unamused look. "You know exactly what I want."

"You want to be sent to retrieve the codes," Helian said in a tone that made it clear what she thought about that. "Why are you so obsessed with them? Regardless, I would need to ask Mr. Kryuger for approval. There's a good chance that your offer will be rejected considering we have already sent out the AR Team. Why would we need you as well?"

"The 'why' doesn't matter. Just send us. We proved ourselves on this mission, right?" Ralph pushed.

Helian sighed again in defeat. "Fine, I will ask Mr. Kryuger. Now go to the medical bay and send those Dolls to the repair bay if they have any injuries. Meet me in the command center tomorrow afternoon."

That was enough for Ralph right now, and he left the office with the snipers in tow. Though Helian did not seem enthusiastic about sending him after the nuclear codes, he hoped that Kryuger would see things differently. He was also banking on the fact that his father would hear about this mission and push Kryuger to send Ralph after the codes, because after all, Mr. Asterid was still eager to go after the codes.

"Do any of you other than WA need repairs?" Ralph asked DSR-50 and Kar98k.

Both of them shook their heads, and outside of some sweat and dirt staining their uniforms, they did appear to be healthy.

"All right, then go to my room and take a shower or something. Kalina's probably asleep, so don't bother her. WA and I will be up soon."

DSR-50 and Kar98k saluted and went off, and Ralph walked with WA2000 to the repair bay since it was in the same general area as the medical bay. When they arrived in the sterile white hallways that led to the labs and medical areas, they saw Squad 404 heading in the opposite direction.

"Commander. We've dropped off your Dolls for repair," UMP45 informed Ralph.

"All right, thanks," Ralph replied, still wary of the German SMG Doll. He was also unwilling to forgive her after what happened at Bangkok even though they had saved him this time.

"I assumed you asked Fraulein Helian about the nuclear code mission?" UMP45 then asked.

"Yeah. I do hope you won't get in my way this time," Ralph responded sourly.

"Don't worry, sir! This time we'll go together!" UMP9 assured him excitedly.

Ralph was confused. "What?"

"We have received special clearance to search for the nuclear codes as well. We'll be going with you," UMP45 confirmed.

"Okay, but I myself haven't been cleared to go yet," Ralph said.

"Don't worry, that will be taken care of. Our contract to search for the codes isn't directly from G&K, to be specific," UMP45 clarified. "We do have G&K authorization, of course, but the one who is paying us directly is Mr. Asterid."

Ralph's eyes widened in surprise. _Mr. Asterid is paying them of all people? Didn't he tell me on the last mission to be wary of Squad 404, and now he's working together with them?_

"Hmph. Your own father lost hope in you and contracted us to do the job instead," HK416 smirked at him.

"It's likely that he will ask for you to go on this mission as well now that you have proved yourself once more," UMP45 amended. "We will await further details, but I would say there is a high likelihood that you'll be accompanying us, sir."

"If that's how it is, then fine. All I care about is getting a chance at those codes," Ralph simply replied. _And AK-12 and AN-94…_

" _Gut_ , then we will meet again when it's time to venture into the tundra," UMP45 concluded. She glanced at WA2000, who had merely been observing thus far. "WA2000, you'll be coming along too, I presume?"

"Huh? Yes," WA2000 answered, wondering why she had suddenly been pulled into the conversation.

UMP45 gave her a mysterious smile, but said nothing more to her. "Well then, sir, _guten nacht_. We will meet again soon."

Squad 404 exited, and Ralph shook his head at them. "Great, now we have to go on a mission with those cunts? Not that I doubt their combat ability, but they for sure are plotting something. It would be a mistake to trust them."

"Right…" WA2000 said absently, still wondering why UMP45 had looked at her like that.

The pair stopped at a fork in the corridor.

"This is where we part ways. I'll see you later," Ralph gave her a thumbs up and headed towards the medical bay.

He saw Persica in the hallway heading in a different direction, and she paused to greet him.

"You're up late, Commander Ralph. I heard you ran into some ELID."

"Unfortunately you heard right," he yawned.

Persica smirked. "Well, I'll save my questions for another time, then. Good night."

Ralph then remembered something from earlier. He recalled M16 mentioning that she had heard about Ralph's past from Persica, but he never remembered telling Persica anything about his time in Africa or where he was born. It was possible that Persica had just looked up that information on her own, but why would she decide to investigate a random commander? He assumed that Mr. Asterid, his adoptive father, must have told Persica for some reason, though he didn't know why exactly Mr. Asterid would feel that Persica needed to know all that.

"Wait, I have a question for you, if you don't mind," Ralph stopped her. "Do you know my father?"

Persica blinked. "Your father? I did know him, yes. Why the sudden interest?"

"Um, 'did'? Do you two not speak anymore or something?" Ralph asked, confused.

Persica looked at him as if he were stupid. "Of course not. He's dead, isn't he?"

"Dead? That's impossible. UMP45 just told me that she spoke to Mr. Asterid," Ralph said.

"Oh, you mean him," Persica realized. "I thought you meant your biological father."

Now Ralph was even more taken aback. "And how could you possibly know _him_?"

"Why are you acting so surprised? Your father was the coordinator in charge of Hermit when Havel assigned me and Lycoris there."

"I didn't understand any of that," Ralph scratched his head.

Persica frowned. "Right, you must have been very young. Well, to put it simply, Hermit was a branch of IOP, and Havel is the guy who runs IOP, even to this day. Surely you know about IOP?"

"The company that manufactures the Dolls? Obviously," Ralph replied.

Persica shrugged. "Just making sure. Anyway, your dad used to work for IOP, and he was the manager for the branch I worked for. He wasn't really an engineer, but he dealt with all the funding and administration and all that other boring stuff. It's safe to say our group wouldn't have been able to function without him."

Things began to click in Ralph's head. "So that's why you knew about me? And is that why I was even picked up from Africa by G&K in the first place?"

"Part of the reason, yeah. G&K didn't go to Africa looking for you, but when they found you there fighting among the rebels, they put two and two together rather quickly and then confirmed it with a DNA test."

"Huh. Why didn't anyone tell me this?" he wondered.

"I thought Mr. Asterid or Helian told you this a long time ago. Don't see why they wouldn't." Persica paused. "Hm, maybe I wasn't supposed to tell you, then. Oh, well. Are you upset?"

Ralph shook his head. "Nah, I suppose it doesn't matter at this point. Even knowing that, nothing changes for me. Thanks for filling me in anyway."

With that, Ralph continued on towards the medical bay. _My father, huh? I can't remember much of him, outside of those lights…_


	15. Blood on the Tundra I

**10/03/2024**

 **1400 hours**

 **G &K HQ, Moscow, Russia**

"Ah… It still hurts a bit," Ralph sighed as he rubbed his ribs. He was currently seated in the cafe on the second floor of the HQ building, which seemed to have become his default debriefing location after mission.

WA2000 was seated across from him, along with Kalina.

"You're still complaining about that? Just how weak are you?" WA2000 frowned.

"Hey, it's not even been a day since I had this injury treated. You're lucky you have an artificial body and your injuries can heal faster," Ralph pointed out bitterly.

"Will you be ready for the next mission?" Kalina asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine," Ralph assured her confidently. "We've finally received orders to head out and recover the nuclear codes, and I'm not letting this opportunity slip by for anything."

"Hm, still, I'm surprised we were given that mission. The AR Team has still been making regular check-ins, and they haven't reported any difficulties so far," Kalina mused.

"We earned it after yesterday's mission. The only negative is that we have to drag those 404 bitches along with us," Ralph's expression soured.

Kalina gave him a blank stare. "You know those are elite Dolls, right? You won't be 'dragging' them anywhere. Instead, you should be happy that they're coming along to assist you."

"You don't understand. Those Dolls are backstabbing cunts," Ralph shook his head. "Right, WA?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, the Commander does have a point. I don't think Squad 404 is very trustworthy," WA2000 agreed reluctantly.

"Oh… I guess they are kind of secretive, but I didn't know they had _that_ bad of a reputation," Kalina said.

"It's because you don't come on missions with us, so you've missed out on a lot," Ralph pointed out. "But you're coming this time, right? Now you'll get to see for yourself."

Kalina sighed, not looking forward to it. "I suppose so. I don't really want to head out into Siberia right as winter is approaching, but after you all nearly got killed on your last mission, I don't think it's fair for me to stay behind anymore…"

"What are you going to do anyway? Can you fight?" WA2000 asked her.

"I am trained to use weapons just like Commander Ralphie is, though as a logistics officer, I haven't gone through as much combat training as he has. My primary job is to coordinate supply drops and communicate with Headquarters. This _is_ supposed to be a reconnaissance mission, after all," Kalina reminded them.

"Right, well, I'm not returning until I've turned AK-12 and AN-94 into piles of scrap," Ralph stated, a momentary flash of anger dancing across his turquoise eyes.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, sir. Don't forget that we sent numerous echelons that never returned after those two," Kalina cautioned.

"I guess you're right," Ralph admitted, surprising Kalina a bit. "However, that doesn't change what I said. I won't let them humiliate me like that again…"

Ralph then saw a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his head to see G36 enter the dining area.

"Oh, it's G36? Looks like she's been repaired," WA2000 said.

Kalina looked over curiously as G36 approached them. "So that's the Doll you mentioned in the after-action report?"

" _Guten morgen_ , sir, Miss WA," G36 greeted Ralph and the sniper with a slight bow. She glanced over at Kalina.

"Ah, I'm Kalina. I'm the logistics officer assigned to this echelon," Kalina introduced herself.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Kalina. I am G36, an assault rifle type Tactical Doll," G36 reciprocated. She then turned back to Ralph. "Sir, how are you injuries?"

"They're well enough, I guess. I see you've been repaired too," Ralph replied.

"Yes, sir. I have been restored to fully functional status, and I am prepared to continue my service to you. As of now, I have been formally assigned to your echelon by Miss Helian. Commander Ralphie, you are now my master," G36 stated with another bow.

"Master? I like the sound of that," Ralph grinned.

"Hey, don't get carried away here," WA2000 glared at her commander.

"I've always wanted to have a personal maid!" Ralph continued, ignoring WA2000.

The sniper T-Doll grew more annoyed. "She's not your 'personal maid.' She's a T-Doll like the rest of us and is just following your orders because that's what she's told to do by command. Don't expect too much."

"I may be a Tactical Doll, but I have also been programmed and trained as a professional maid," G36 cut in. "Master, you may ask what you wish of me. I will do my utmost to fulfill all your orders, whether they be on or off the battlefield."

"Finally, a Doll I can count on!" Ralph stood up in excitement. "Welcome to the squad, G36! You and I will get along great together."

WA2000 sighed and shook her head. "You've shot yourself in the foot by saying that, G36…"

"That aside, it's still good that we got another Doll," Kalina tried to bring them back on track. "If we're going after the nuclear codes, we're probably going to need all the help we can get. It would be great if we got more Dolls as well."

"I'll ask Helian during my meeting with her today, but I have a feeling our request is going to be denied. After all, they never planned to send me originally, so they probably don't have any spare Dolls lying around. Unfortunately, we might just have to rely on Squad 404," Ralph admitted.

"Speaking of your meeting, shouldn't you get going now? It's already two," Kalina said.

"Shit, guess so," Ralph took a quick glance at the clock on the wall. "By the way, G36, where have you been staying?"

"I have a room to myself in the T-Doll dorm area," G36 answered.

"So they gave you a room by yourself but couldn't even spare one room for our Dolls? What sort of bureaucratic incompetence is this?" Ralph spat in disgust. "Anyway, sorry to do this to you, but you're going to have to share with some of your fellow echelon members now. Kalina will take care of it."

G36 bowed as Ralph walked by her and exited the cafe, heading downstairs to the main command center. As usual, OTs-39 was guarding the door to the command center. She saluted as Ralph approached.

"Sir. Miss Helian is expecting you," she said.

"I see you've been repaired too. Back on guard duty?" Ralph greeted.

"Ah, yes. For now, at least."

"You should join our echelon. You did well enough in the last mission," Ralph offered.

"That isn't my decision to make, sir. Besides, I think there is already another SMG-type Doll that is being assigned to your echelon," OTs-39 told him.

Ralph raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's the first I've heard of that… Anyway, the next time you get a reassignment, maybe you should ask to come to our echelon, okay? See ya."

The commander went inside and was greeted with the familiar sight of the dark command center, with its blue screens and the various terminals providing most of the light. As usual, numerous staff members were at work on the computers, and Helian was at her desk in the back. However, unlike the last time he was here, Kryuger was not seated in his chair in the center, but was standing beside Helian's desk and discussing something with her.

Furthermore, there was a third person there. A girl with luscious black hair tied in two low ponytails which hung across her shoulders stood silently beside Helian. She wore a sweater and a short black skirt, and a blue lanyard holding her ID hung over her sizeable chest. The three of them turned to look when Ralph entered.

"Ralphie, good afternoon," Kryuger nodded a greeting.

"You're late," Helian merely said, giving him a sharp look.

"Good afternoon, sir," Ralph returned Kryuger's greeting, ignoring Helian.

"Right, now that we're all here, Helian, please give the briefing," Kryuger announced.

"Understood. As we all know, we lost contact with all of our echelons when we initially sent them out to investigate the location of the nuclear codes. Their sudden disappearance most likely means that they were ambushed by something, and we have sent the AR Team out to discover what that 'something' is. As of this morning, we have been able to maintain contact with the AR Team, and they have told us that they have discovered the exact location of the Sangvis Ferri base in Siberia. We have given them orders to refrain from attacking it until backup arrives. Ralphie, you and Squad 404 are that backup."

"So it's Sangvis Ferri who attacked the other echelons? And AK-12 and AN-94 are working with Sangvis Ferri?" Ralph assumed.

"That wouldn't make any sense. Remember that AK-12 and AN-94 stole the codes from Sangvis Ferri in the first place," Helian pointed out.

"Hm… Could it be a rogue Sangvis branch? Or maybe whoever those two Russians are working for took over the Sangvis base and are using it for themselves?" Ralph posited.

"The former is very unlikely, considering that Sangvis Ferri subordinates almost never revolt from the Mastermind," Kryuger said. "The latter would be a possibility, but we have confirmation from the AR Team that there are actual Sangvis units operating inside the base, including the signatures of two ringleaders."

 _Damn, they must have gotten pretty close to the base to figure that out,_ Ralph thought, wondering how exactly the AR Team managed that.

"It's still possible that units from the Sangvis base are the ones who eliminated our echelons, but it's unlikely that the Sangvis base is also the location of the nuclear codes," Helian continued. "Even so, that base cannot be allowed to stand, as it has already hampered our efforts to locate the codes. We are hoping that the combined might of the AR Team, Squad 404, and your echelon can disable it."

 _Only three echelons to take down an entire Sangvis base with two ringleaders? They must really believe in the strength of the AR Team and Squad 404._

"Ralphie, after your last mission, you and your echelons have proven that they can survive against overwhelming odds. The AR Team and Squad 404 have specialized Dolls that are capable of acting independently if they need to, but we are still counting on your command ability on this operation," Kryuger stated firmly. "Once you destroy the Sangvis Ferri base, we will need you to press onwards and recover the nuclear codes. Can you do it?"

Ralph thought about his situation. Initially his plan was to keep the nuclear codes to himself and Mr. Asterid in order to use them as leverage to gain access to America, but this time with Squad 404 and the AR Team watching him, it would be a lot more difficult. Nevertheless, this was an opportunity he could not pass up no matter what.

"Yes, sir. I will complete the mission," Ralph replied confidently.

Kryuger nodded in approval. "Good. Now, then, you must be wondering who this girl is. This is Tactical Doll RO635, specially made to be the next member of the AR Team. For this mission, she will be a part of your echelon."

The black-haired girl saluted to Ralph as she was mentioned. "Greetings, sir. I am RO635. It is an honor to be in your service."

"Right, good to have you," Ralph casually replied. "So, when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow. This mission is our highest priority. Is that all right?" Helian answered.

"Fine by me."

"Good. Well, Commander Ralphie. I wish you luck. I am sure you will do our company proud," Kryuger said, then left the command center after exchanging a handshake with Ralph.

Helian sighed. "I'd tell you to be careful, but you did ask for this. This will be a difficult mission. Don't regret this."

"I've done plenty of difficult things before. This'll just be another one to add to my resume," Ralph grinned. "I'm off to prepare for tomorrow. I'll be back before you know it, Helian!"

"Ah, wait for me, sir!" RO635 ran after Ralph.

Helian frowned and rubbed her temples. "Father… You and Ralphie… I hope you two know what you are getting yourselves into."

* * *

 **10/03/2024**

 **1600 hours**

 **Pushkino, Russia**

Dreamer stood atop a grassy hill, her black hair swaying in the wind as her pale yellow eyes watched over the town of Pushkino in the distance. The town was crawling with G&K personnel, most of them dressed in biohazard suits as they went about removing the corpses of the ELID. There were also a few T-Doll echelons for security, but there were no more ELID left in the town anyway, so they simply stood around and watched the biohazard workers go about their business.

"So in the end, they were able to flee," Dreamer mused to herself, thinking about Ralph's echelon. "That commander and his T-Dolls have escaped the jaws of death yet again… How lucky."

Dreamer wondered if she should have taken her little plan more seriously. Perhaps if she had put in more thought instead of just launching this operation on a whimsy, she would have been able to kill them after all.

 _Hm, not that it matters, I suppose. It's not as if those Dolls and that commander are important in the grand scheme of things_.

Besides, this entire operation was unauthorized to begin with. Dreamer had been specifically told by Agent to simply watch over the G&K Headquarters, but she had disregarded those orders and embarked on this experiment instead. Of course, she knew the whole time that this experiment would have no negative impact on Sangvis Ferri and their goals, so in reality, she technically wasn't going against her organization.

 _Paradeus… What a strange group._

Dreamer recalled when she had been approached by a strange-looking girl clad in all black and been given the collapse fluid that allowed her to infect the town of Pushkino. She didn't know why the girl had asked her to infect the town, but she figured that their interests were similar in that they both wanted to see what would happen. Dreamer was only in it for the amusement factor and to brighten up this boring assignment that she had been given, but she figured that the girl from Paradeus must have had a different reason for wanting to infect the town.

 _Well, I suppose that I can at least report the existence of this strange group to Agent and Elisa,_ Dreamer thought, hoping that providing this information would make Agent go easier on her for acting so freely.

Taking her yellow eyes off the town below her, Dreamer tapped into her communications channel through her OGAS interface. She opened a communications request with Agent, who shortly accepted the call.

" _Dreamer. Do you have news?"_

"I should ask you first. Have you heard anything from here?"

" _Yes, I noticed a television report on a small outbreak of ELID contamination around the town of Pushkino. You wouldn't have had anything to do with that, right?"_

Dreamer couldn't resist grinning at that. "Well, I may have been involved in it. And it may have not been as small as the news reported."

" _... And this is explicitly after I told you not to do anything outlandish."_ Agent sounded exasperated. " _So why bother to tell me this? It seems nothing good or bad came out of it. And where did you get the fluid to cause the spread anyway?"_

"That is what I wanted to tell you about. Have you heard of the group known as Paradeus? They are the ones who supplied me with the fluid." Dreamer said.

" _They wanted you to attack a random, insignificant town? I suppose the only reason they would do that is if they wanted the virus to spread from there… Did they tell you their reasoning? Why did they approach you?"_

"Who knows? I just saw it as a great opportunity to have some fun," Dreamer admitted. "However, it doesn't seem like they were playing around. This may have been a test run of sorts for them."

" _A test run? For a larger-scale infection, I presume,"_ Agent put together. " _Did they know you were from Sangvis Ferri? They must have, and yet they decided to approach you anyway… I suppose they figured that you would aid them because the infection would do collateral damage to Grifon and Kryuger, and they were right."_

"What can I say? In the end, it's not like it was bad for us, right?" Dreamer shrugged.

" _Maybe so, but you don't need me to tell you to use more caution next time. If we don't know what their goals are or what their strength is, it is better if we don't get involved with them,"_ Agent said.

"Right, right. Aside from that, how are things in the tundra?" Dreamer asked, curious.

" _Everything is going well so far._ _Architect and Gager have been stationed there for years and so they know the area well, and now that those Grifon dogs are off their backs, they have been able to do a proper reconnaissance mission. Based on your location data, we believe that AK-12 and AN-94 have taken refuge at a small, abandoned outpost once used by the Soviet military. Our recon has revealed that there is a small force of military Dolls and soldiers stationed there by whatever group AK-12 and AN-94 are working for, and though we don't know their exact number or specifications, it seems clear that we still hold the advantage."_

"Is that so? And the AR Team?" Dreamer wondered.

" _You told us that they would be coming, but according to Architect and Gager, there have been no sightings of them yet. It's possible that they went looking for survivors from the G &K echelons we wiped out which is why we haven't seen them yet, but it doesn't matter. As I said last time, our main priority is recovering the codes, not dealing with the AR Team."_

"Heh, I see. And what if the AR Team attacks our base or our forces while we're doing that?"

" _If that happens, then we will deal with it. I have left the specifics of that up to Architect and Gager, but I have made sure to tell them that our number one priority is recovering the nuclear codes,"_ Agent stated. " _With any luck, we will have recovered the codes before the AR Team makes their move. If you gain any more information on their movements, be sure to let us know, Dreamer."_

"Sure, but I doubt I will be hearing anything more from them since they are in the tundra now," Dreamer told her.

" _Fine. Do you know if any other squads have been deployed to Siberia?"_

"None that I know of."

" _Understood. Then that will be all."_

Agent terminated the comms channel, and Dreamer turned her attention back to the sad state of Pushkino. Though hundreds had died during her little experiment, Dreamer was not satisfied. The main reason she had agreed to spreading the virus in the town was to pay that commander and his echelon back for what they did to her in Bangkok, but she had failed yet again.

 _Hmph. Rest assured, we will meet again, Commander._ Dreamer's lips curled up into a twisted smirk. _Next time, I will be sure to entertain you myself._

* * *

 **10/04/2024**

 **0800 hours**

 **G &K HQ, Moscow, Russia**

Ralph stood in front of his echelon as they lined up for a final weapons check in front of one of the helipads nearby the HQ building. All seven of his T-Dolls stood silently, geared up in their usual uniforms and equipped with their standard weapons. Ralph himself was dressed a bit differently; instead of his usual white dress shirt and black slacks that came with the G&K commander uniform, he was wearing a thicker white camo jacket and combat pants, along with white snow boots. The snowy, Siberian environment required this change of clothes, and his weapon, an AK-12 painted in white camouflage, also reflected the location of the mission.

Ralph looked down at his gun, which hung by his side from his belt. _AK-12 and AN-94… I will find you. What did you betray G &K for? What do you need the nuclear codes for? And… Why didn't you just kill me back in Bangkok?_

"Sir, it seems all the preparations have been completed," Kalina reported as she finished inspecting all the Dolls. Like her commander, she was also dressed in the same gear, though she carried an MP7 instead of an assault rifle.

"Hm? Oh, okay. Guess we just have to wait for 404 now," Ralph replied.

They stood around for another five minutes before Squad 404 showed up, along with Helian and Mr. Asterid, to Ralph's great surprise.

"Ralphie, my boy! Ready to head out, I see," Mr. Asterid greeted with a smile.

"Ah, Father, Helian. Didn't expect you two to be here," Ralph said.

"Since this is a fairly important mission, I'm just here to make sure you have everything you need before setting out. I don't know why Father decided to drop by," Helian frowned.

"What? I just wanted to impart some quick words of wisdom before Ralphie leaves," Mr. Asterid said. "Can we speak in private, Ralphie?"

Ralph followed his adopted father out of earshot of the rest of the group.

"Is this about the codes?" the commander asked.

Mr. Asterid's expression turned serious. "Indeed. It looks like you have plenty of company this time outside of just your own echelon, so we won't be able to get away with taking them for ourselves."

"Yeah, that's a problem, and it's a problem caused by you," Ralph accused sourly. "Why would you hire 404 for this?"

"Well… I had to have insurance, you know? What if you couldn't get the codes?" Mr. Asterid said.

"And you hired 404 instead?" Ralph repeated in disbelief. "How can you even trust them to do what you say? And don't they work for G&K? You seriously told them you wanted the codes for yourself?"

"Squad 404 does not work for anyone, though they are often contracted by G&K. However, in this case, I am the one paying them, and so they have no reason to tell G&K about my designs," Mr. Asterid explained.

Ralph frowned at that. "That's still not a reason to trust them. What if they decide to ignore your agreement, or what if G&K pays them more for the codes? Take it from me, those cunts are not to be trusted."

"They did save you on your last mission, didn't they?" Mr. Asterid pointed out. "But regardless, I don't need you to tell me about the dangers of Squad 404. That doesn't change the fact that I still needed to hire them. I didn't know if you would be cleared to go on this mission, first of all, and secondly, there is no way you can recover those codes on your own. You will need more than just the Dolls in your echelon where you're going."

"I still don't see how the benefits outweigh the costs. It will be much more difficult for you to get those codes with Squad 404 and the AR Team in the way," Ralph shook his head.

"Luckily I have my connections," Mr. Asterid smiled, his eyes gleaming dangerously. "You just worry about getting those codes, Ralphie, I'll try to take care of the rest. You will most likely receive some sort of communication from me once you have the codes, but until then, just act normally and carry out the mission like you are assigned to. All right?"

"Fine."

"Right, then. I must be off now, so good luck."

Mr. Asterid patted Ralph on the shoulder before walking away from the helipad, and Ralph returned to Helian and the T-Dolls.

"What did he want?" Helian asked.

Ralph shrugged. "Nothing, really. He just gave me a few pointers."

"And he needed to do that in private?" Helian raised an eyebrow.

"I guess so."

With a sigh, Helian decided to drop that topic. "All right, whatever. Anyway, it looks like everything is good here. You all are cleared to sortie."

" _Gut_ , let's go, girls," UMP45 waved the rest of her squad onto the large helicopter.

Ralph watched them as he stood next to Helian. "Are you sure we can trust them?"

"Ralphie, I don't even know if we can trust _you_ ," Helian shot back.

"Haha, what are you saying? Even after all this time, you still doubt me?" Ralph grinned.

Helian shook her head. "And that's precisely why I say that… I've known you since you were a kid, fresh out of the African militia. Though you've clearly polished yourself a lot since then, there is a sense of wildness still in you that can probably never be tamed."

"Hm… Is that supposed to be an insult?" Ralph questioned, amused.

"More of an observation. Ralphie… I'm sure you've wondered why our Father decided to adopt you? There is a reason related to your past, but I think the main reason why he chose you was because he knew you could be used as an attack dog to serve his own interests even if they went against Grifon and Kryuger's," Helian stated, not holding anything back.

Ralph laughed. "I knew that since the first day I met him, Helian. Why would such a rich and influential man adopt a rabid animal straight out of the bush unless he wanted to make some use of him? But what you're missing is that I also stand to gain from this arrangement. This is what's best for me."

Helian's sharp eyes flickered with uncertainty. "If you say so. But just know that even if I weren't your superior here in the company, I still feel responsible for you as your adopted elder sister. In spite of what your life may have been like up until now, there's a bright future waiting for you if you would just reach out and take it. Don't let your past hold you back."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ralph said as he walked back towards the helicopter. "I'll see you when I return. I'd wish you luck on your never-ending search on finding a boyfriend, but I doubt it would help you! See you, Helian!"

"Wha- !" Helian stammered, but by now Ralph had leapt into the helicopter and her voice had been drowned out by the rotor blades anyway.

He flashed her a cheeky grin through the window before the helicopter took off, scattering the air around it as it began its journey towards the frigid, Siberian tundra.

* * *

 **10/04/2024**

 **1000 hours**

 **Unknown Location, Siberia, Russia**

AK-12 and AN-94 walked into a large, empty room in the abandoned military base they were staying in. Based on the size of the room and its interior design, it seemed to have been made to be used as a hangar, though it had long been out of use. Holes were present in the ceiling, allowing snow to drift inside and letting the cold, Siberian chill permeate throughout.

A lone figure sat on a box towards the back of the room, smoking a cigarette and staring up at the gray, snowy sky through one of the holes in the ceiling. She had dark hair and wore dark clothing covered by a thick, winter military coat.

"So this is where you were, Ange," AK-12 greeted in Russian, her eyes closed as usual. "Isn't it cold in here? Why not sit in the main command room, which at least has a fire going?"

The woman, Angelica, put out her cigarette. "All the soldiers are in there. Too noisy. Anyway, did you figure anything out?"

"Yes, now that we've finally got the outdated consoles working, I was able to tap them for information. It didn't give me much, but luckily the advanced radar built by the FSB when they were using this base still works. There is a Sangvis Ferri squad with a ringleader in command camped out nearby, and signatures belonging to the AR Team have also been spotted," AK-12 informed her.

Angelica sighed as she stood up. "So bad news, huh? Looks like they finally put the data from the tracker they slapped on you to good use."

AN-94 frowned. "I'm sorry. I got rid of it as soon as I noticed, but…"

"Eh, it doesn't matter now," Angelica waved her off. "But the other thing you mentioned is also interesting. So the AR Team is finally here? It's about time they sent them."

"They are still encamped by the Sangvis base, though. It doesn't look like they know exactly where we are," AK-12 provided.

"That doesn't make sense. Why would the AR Team focus on Sangvis Ferri instead of looking for us?" Angelica frowned.

"It seems there was a bit of fighting done that we didn't notice," AK-12 said. "I also saw a few scattered signatures of other Dolls on the radar, but they were far away and far between, so even this radar couldn't get a clear picture of them. It looks like they are Grifon Dolls, though, which means that they probably came looking for us but ran into trouble from Sangvis Ferri before they could reach us."

"So G&K sent echelons after us but Sangvis Ferri got rid of them? That's pretty lucky for us," Angelica summed up.

"Yes. It might mean that the AR Team is here to recover those Dolls or get rid of that Sangvis base instead of chasing after us," AK-12 said.

"I doubt it," Angelica shook her head. "Mr. Kryuger probably made it clear that recovering the nuclear codes are of the highest priority. If the AR Team is lingering by the Sangvis Ferri base, then it may just be that they're trying to find a way to sneak past it, or…"

Angelica's face took on a thoughtful look. "About those scattered Dolls you mentioned earlier… Did any of them happen to belong to the G&K echelon you two used to be a part of?"

AK-12 and AN-94 looked a bit surprised by the question.

"No. They were all unknown to us," AN-94 answered.

"Then maybe the AR Team is waiting for reinforcements, maybe even from that echelon," Angelica said. "After all, they are the ones in that company who know you best, right?"

AK-12 opened her violet eyes. "So Commander Ralphie is coming? Interesting."

AN-94 looked uneasy, shifting her attention to her gun.

"Will you be able to fight them?" Angelica asked with a smirk.

"Of course," AK-12 answered confidently. "In fact, we look forward to it."

Angelica glanced at AK-12's partner. "AN-94 doesn't seem to share your enthusiasm."

"I will do as AK-12 does," AN-94 replied.

"There you have it. There is no need to worry about us," AK-12 said.

"Hm… That was the first time you two fought alongside other T-Dolls, right? How did it feel?" Angelica wondered.

"I don't know what you mean. The other Grifon Dolls aren't anything special," AK-12 dismissed.

Angelica smiled. "I see. You two don't seem to have any friends outside of each other, so I thought maybe your time in that echelon was a good chance for you to open up to others."

"Are you saying you're not our friend, Ange?" AK-12 returned the smile.

"Haha! If you want to look at our relationship that way, sure, I guess," Angelica shrugged.

"There's no point in becoming friends with those we have to fight," AN-94 stated.

"I suppose you have a point," Angelica admitted. "But not all relationships are based in logic, right? Friendships may come and go, but they still hold value forever as long as they helped you grow as a person."

"Never knew you to be so optimistic." AK-12 was amused.

Angelica gave another lighthearted smile. "Call it what you want. Anyway, we should start preparing for battle. It looks like our time sitting idly in the tundra is finally up."


	16. Blood on the Tundra II

**10/04/2024**

 **2100 hours**

 **Siberia, Russia**

"Pretty empty out here, huh," WA2000 observed as she glanced around the Russian tundra after disembarking from the helicopter.

"Of course it is. Just be glad that the weather is good right now," UMP45 said.

The rest of the T-Dolls, Ralph, and Kalina got off the helicopter as well, their boots crunching into the untouched, pure-white snow. The snow stretched out as far as the eye could see, though dense forests filled with snow-capped evergreens also made up a good portion of the landscape. In the distance, small mountains and hills poked up into the clear, starry night sky.

"This place is very pretty, actually. It's a shame we have to come here under such circumstances," Kar98k observed after the helicopter took off.

"B-But it's so cold," G11 complained, shivering slightly.

HK416 glared at her. "Then you should have worn thicker gear instead of those tiny shorts. Zip up your damn jacket."

"It's not too bad, eh? Not as long as you have some good vodka or kvas to warm you up," A-91 grinned, shaking her flask. "Want a sip, Commander? You humans must feel the weather much more than we do."

"I'm good, thanks," Ralph said, spitting a red stream of his chewing tobacco onto the snow. "I may have grown up in a pretty warm area, but I've been living in Russia for years now. I'm used to the winters here."

"The Siberian tundra is something else, though, isn't it?" UMP45 noted, stepping up beside Ralph. "It really is empty around here. If you get lost or separated from the group, you'll never survive."

Ralph eyed her warily. "Is that a threat?"

UMP45 smirked at him. "Did it sound like one? I was just bringing that up to show why we haven't found any of the Dolls or commanders who went on the previous mission to bring back the codes."

"Yeah, whatever. Weirdo," Ralph frowned at her before pulling out the satellite radio he had stashed in his coat pocket. "AR Team should be calling soon…"

" _Ja_ , any minute now," UMP45 said, glancing down at her own satellite radio.

As second in command for this mission, she had been given a spare in case something happened to Ralph. Originally developed by the Spetsnaz during World War III, the radio device was outfitted with an antenna and a small screen displaying their position via GPS. It was a bit bulky, but given its ability to function in remote environments and send encrypted communications back and forth between users, it was perfect for a mission like this.

The radio crackled to life. " _Hello? This is M16 of the AR Team. G &K echelon, do you read me?"_

"We read you. This is Commander Ralphie along with Squad 404. We've just landed at the designated landing point," Ralph responded.

RO635 stood behind the commander, trying (and failing) to hide her curiosity about hearing the voices of the AR Team for the first time.

" _Ah, so they sent you, sir? Interesting! And Squad 404 too? Say hello to 416 for me!"_

HK416 merely scowled at that.

" _Anyway, I've sent our coordinates over. Did you get them?"_ M16 continued.

"Confirmed. I just downloaded them," UMP45 told Ralph as she showed him the screen on her own radio.

"Yeah, we got them," Ralph relayed to M16. "So what is your status? You're not in any direct danger, I hope? It's going to take us a while to get to you."

" _We're camped right outside the Sangvis Ferri base, but they haven't spotted us yet. I'm more worried about you guys, to be honest. You're going to be heading straight through areas that are firmly in Sangvis control, so you're probably going to run into some patrols. We also saw a raiding party led by the ringleader Gager leave the base earlier, so_ definitely _avoid them if you see them."_

"And here I was expecting an easy stroll through the tundra," Ralph joked. "By the way, our secondary objective is to find any of the missing Dolls and commanders that came through here earlier. You didn't happen to find any of them, did you?"

" _Unfortunately our mission was to find the codes as soon as possible and then we got sidetracked by this Sangvis base, so we haven't been able to search for them. However, we did see a few strange blips on our radar while we were passing through, so it's possible that some of them are still alive. Sorry we don't have any more concrete info…"_

"Eh, I guess that's just how it is. Like I said, finding the other echelons is a secondary objective, so we're just going to try and get to you as soon as possible."

" _Roger that, sir. Well, in that case, I'll let you get to work. I've marked the path we took on the coordinates I sent you, so you can just go the same way if you want,"_ M16 told him.

"All right, we probably will. See you soon."

Ralph terminated the transmission and turned to his echelon and Squad 404. "Okay, you heard the plan. We'll follow the same route AR Team took until we reach them. I'm guessing they weaved through the forests instead of traversing the open tundra… Anyway, we're going to be moving constantly for the rest of tonight all the way until midday tomorrow, so hopefully you are well-rested. We will change who carries the packs containing the camping equipment every hour, but other than that, keep the talking and extraneous movements to a minimum."

"We'll be using the same area that the AR Team used to rest to set up camp," Kalina said. "From earlier patrols on both air and land, we know that Sangvis Ferri usually doesn't pass through there, which is why we've selected it. Unfortunately, like the Commander said, it's going to take us several hours to get there."

"Uuuu… Half a day with no sleep _and_ I have to carry this heavy backpack?" G11 whined, having had the misfortune of being one of the Dolls saddled with camping equipment initially. "This is cruel and unusual punishment…"

"Come on, it's like a fun camping trip!" UMP9 tried to cheer G11 up.

"Yes, I love camping trips where we could be killed at any time," HK416 rolled her eyes.

UMP45 smiled. "You're all quite lively tonight. Good! We will need that energy."

"Ugh, I can already tell this is going to be annoying…" WA2000 complained under her breath.

"And you, my friend," UMP45 turned to WA2000, having somehow heard her, "I've got something interesting to share with you. It can wait until our break tomorrow, though."

"Uh… Okay," WA2000 managed, confused. Now that she thought about it, UMP45 had said something cryptic like that when they came back from the Pushkino mission too.

G36 walked up next to Ralph. "Sir, if you feel tired, please let me know and I will be glad to carry you again."

"Don't say that out loud! And how can you say that with such a serious expression!" Ralph cringed, hoping that UMP45 hadn't heard that.

"You make your Dolls carry you around, huh, sir?" UMP45 asked with a teasing smile, indicating that she had, in fact, heard him.

"I am simply taking precautions so that there is no unnecessary strain on Master," G36 said evenly.

"Oho, so you make them call you 'Master' too?"

 _G36 has to be doing this on purpose,_ Ralph frowned. "Care to take point, 45? Based on how god-like you make Squad 404 out to be, I'm sure having you on the frontlines will make this mission easy."

"Sure, I don't mind," UMP45 nonchalantly replied. "9, bring up the rear."

And so the procession went, with UMP45 and 416 leading from the front while G11 and UMP9 held towards the rear. Ralph's echelon was sandwiched in the middle, though the group didn't move in a single-file line and instead operated as a cluster.

They entered the first patch of forest, the densely-packed evergreens blocking out the moonlight from above. So far there had been no sign of anyone else, either friend or foe.

 _This is mind-numbingly boring,_ Ralph thought as they approached the half-hour mark. He had been on long marches before, but those were back in his militia days where the people he was marching with were lively and unpredictable, providing for some entertainment along the way. This time everyone was dead quiet, which admittedly was a rule he himself imposed, but since there were no enemies around, they probably didn't need to maintain complete silence.

As he walked, Ralph noticed that 416 kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. Out of boredom, he decided he might as well ask what she was doing.

"Can I help you, 416?" he asked the next time he caught her looking at him.

The silver-haired Doll gave him a sour, perplexed look. "How is it that you're able to move like that? You're walking right behind me and yet I can't hear the sound of your footsteps on the snow."

Ralph shrugged. "I used to do a lot of infiltration missions, so I trained myself for stealth. I guess I'm just too used to walking this way now and do it unconsciously. Shouldn't you be able to do it too? I thought 404 was a stealth squad."

"We are, but we focus more on electronic warfare and things like that to remove our footprint," UMP45 supplied.

"So like AK-12?" Ralph asked, glancing down at his weapon bitterly.

"Something like that, though not exactly," UMP45 just said. "It's definitely going to be interesting to have to go up against her soon. You're prepared for that, sir? After all, she used to be in your squad."

"Of course I am. I can't wait to teach that backstabbing bitch a lesson," Ralph growled, clenching his rifle.

UMP45 gave him an amused look. "Right… Just make sure you're not the one who gets schooled instead. You're lucky they didn't kill you last time."

"This time will be different since there won't be any sudden betrayals. Surely we're both in agreement about that, UMP45?" Ralph asked her in an accusatory tone.

"Haha! Indeed, sir," UMP45 laughed.

RO635 walked up beside the commander, nervously glancing at UMP45 to make sure she was out of earshot. "Um, excuse me if this is out of line, sir, but has something happened between you and Squad 404 in the past? The atmosphere here seems very tense…"

"To put it simply, Squad 404 are a bunch of traitorous cunts who you should never trust no matter what," Ralph replied bluntly. "That's pretty much all you need to know about them. Don't think they're your allies just because we're on this mission together."

RO blinked in surprise. "O-Oh, I see. I did not realize… From what I have heard, Squad 404 are a group of Dolls specializing in covert, highly-dangerous operations. I was told they had helped Grifon & Kryuger numerous times in the past, but…"

"Yeah, that's all bullshit. Don't trust them," Ralph repeated.

WA2000 sighed, overhearing their conversation. "Not that I disagree with any of that, but RO, you're better off not trusting the Commander either. It's not like he's much better than Squad 404, if at all."

"Woah. What have I ever done to you?" Ralph asked with a cheeky grin.

WA2000 glared at him. "You've done plenty of bad shit since I've been in your echelon! Maybe not to me personally, but I don't think for a second you wouldn't do it to me if you thought I was in your way."

"Aw, don't be like that," Ralph denied, but he couldn't wipe the shit-eating grin off his face.

"Ah, but if the Commander's Dolls can speak to him in such a bold and honest manner without fear of repercussion, he must be a fine commander after all," RO635 smiled.

"Hah! You get it, RO!" Ralph nodded.

WA2000 sighed again. "Forget it…"

"But still… I must admit, I am slightly nervous," RO635 said. "I have been assigned as the newest member of the AR Team, and though I have only heard good things about them, what if the truth is more complicated, similar to Squad 404's situation?"

"Luckily for you, the AR Team isn't like that, as far as I can tell," Ralph told her. "I don't know M4A1 or SOPMOD too well, but AR-15 and M16 are all right. For all their eccentricities, they're reliable and you can count on them in battle. I think you will be fine, RO."

RO635's expression lifted at that. "Thank you for that reassurance, sir. I just hope I can contribute to their squad."

The group continued on for about another half hour before UMP45 stopped, causing the entire pack to halt.

"There's a Sangvis patrol appearing on the edge of our radar," UMP45 said.

Ralph looked down at his own satellite radio, mentally cursing himself for letting the monotony dull his concentration. "It's showing about fifteen enemy units as opposed to our thirteen. We can probably take them out with no losses if we ambush them, which is a possibility considering our radar has a much longer range than theirs does."

"Um, I'll try to help, but…" Kalina looked nervous.

Ralph grinned at her. "Just stay behind me and you'll be fine. Probably."

"Right…" Kalina didn't look so convinced.

UMP45 gestured forward. "Past these trees here is a clearing with a large, frozen lake in the center. It's surrounded on all sides by forest. If we can somehow get the Sangvis patrol to pass through the clearing, then we can get them out in the open and easily eliminate them."

"And how would we do that? There is no way they would enter the clearing of their own volition," Kar98k said.

"Then clearly we need to force them out there," HK416 simply replied. "Maybe we can fire a shot in their direction? That might get them to cross through the clearing to get to the other side."

"Why would they do that? That would just further incentivize them not to leave the protection of the forest," Ralph stated. "We need to do something that will specifically make them want to go into the clearing and stay there."

"Then maybe we should use a decoy? One of us will stand down there or pretend like we're dead so that the enemy comes down to inspect us," DSR-50 offered.

Ralph shook his head. "That's too dangerous. It's more likely that if they saw a T-Doll, even one that looked dead, they would shoot it first to make sure that it really is dead. We'll use this instead."

The commander pulled out the satellite radio. "It's a valuable piece of G&K equipment, so they'd probably want to take it for themselves. I'll put it on the setting where it emits a signal so that the enemy is drawn towards it."

"That would probably work. Throw it down into the clearing before they get here," UMP45 agreed.

Cocking his arm back, Ralph threw the radio like a football, watching as it sailed through the air and past the trees and lodged itself into the untouched snow of the clearing.

"That thing was pretty sturdy. Hopefully that throw didn't break it," he mused.

"Let's get into position now. The enemy patrol should be passing by just about now," UMP45 said.

The T-Dolls and the two humans lay in wait for the Sangvis forces to emerge into the clearing, their guns trained on the satellite radio. UMP45 watched her own satellite radio as well, keeping a close eye on the position of the enemy troops.

A few minutes later, a squad of four Sangvis Ferri units left the forest and headed out into the open snow to investigate the radio. There were two vespids and two rippers, and as they made it to the radio, the other eleven enemies in the area were nowhere to be seen.

 _Looks like they didn't send their entire squad out to the clearing. Makes sense, but that fucks up my plan,_ Ralph sighed internally. _Well, whatever. As long as we can reduce their numbers, it's a win for us._

UMP45 shot him a look as if to ask him if they should proceed with the plan, and he gave her a thumbs up. Ralph raised the sights of his AK-12 at the ripper in the lead and fired, the bullet hitting true and splattering the enemy Doll's blood onto the snow. Numerous other shots then cracked through the air, and within the span of a few seconds, all four Sangvis units had been killed.

"Prepare for contact. The other eleven should be coming this way," Ralph warned his echelon.

Now that they had given away their position with their gunfire, they had no choice but to eliminate the remainder of the enemy forces head-on. However, they were no longer at a numbers disadvantage.

"45! Get over here," Ralph motioned to the SMG Doll as he stood beside DSR-50. "We need your radio's radar. Let's see which direction they're coming from so that our snipers can hit them before they actually get to us."

" _Jawohl_. Seems they're running at us from the northwest," UMP45 supplied, letting Ralph and the three sniper Dolls see the radar.

"All right. You three, lie in wait for them here and try and see if you can get any of them before they get close enough to return fire," Ralph ordered. "The rest of you, pick a tree trunk and stand behind it until the enemy arrives. 45, let me know if they change direction."

Ralph himself also stepped behind a tree trunk as he reloaded his weapon. He then went into a prone position and waited, watching through the iron sights of his gun in the direction where the enemy was supposed to come from. Though they had lost the element of surprise, they still had the advantage of taking up a defensive position since now the enemy was moving to eliminate them.

DSR-50 took the first shot, her massive rifle booming as its bullet tore through the crisp Siberian air. WA2000 and Kar98k followed up with their own shots, but then the enemy began returning fire. A Sangvis bullet lodged itself into the tree trunk right next to WA2000's head, causing her to jump and slide behind cover as wood chips flew into the air. Kar98k and DSR-50 got behind cover as well.

"I think we only managed to get one of them, sir!" Kar98k warned as the enemy's return fire increased in intensity.

"Fine!" Ralph yelled back. "All right, everyone, fire at will!"

The rest of the T-Dolls started shooting back in the direction of the enemy, though most of the shots coming in and going out hit the trees in the dense forest rather than a body. After about thirty seconds, everyone stopped shooting, including the enemies.

Ralph peeked his head out from behind the tree trunk. _I can't see the enemy from here, so they're probably taking cover just like we are. I guess they realized that a reckless frontal assault against us would be suicidal._

He glanced over his troops, at least the ones he could see from his position, and found that no one had been injured. _No casualties on our side yet, and there should only be ten of the enemy left at most… Let me go over to UMP45 and see if she has their positions._

The only problem was that UMP45 was several meters away, which meant that he had to leave cover and sprint over. Nevertheless, that was what he did, and he leapt out from behind his tree trunk and tried to run over to UMP45. To his chagrin, he saw a vespid peek her head out at the same time.

Cursing, Ralph had to change his plan as the vespid began firing at him. He dove behind the nearest tree trunk he could find, which happened to be the one DSR-50 was crouching behind. He tumbled in the snow and accidentally landed on top of DSR, burying his face into the T-Doll's sizable bosom.

"Commander, now is not the time for this," DSR-50 giggled as she gently pushed him off. "But now that the enemy has revealed herself…"

DSR-50 swiveled out from behind cover and pointed her rifle in the direction where the enemy fire was coming from. Though the vespid had gone back behind the tree trunk, DSR now knew which tree the Sangvis Doll was hiding behind, and the German sniper fired her weapon at that tree. With a loud bang, the DSR-50 bullet smashed right through the tree trunk and hit the vespid behind it. The vespid slumped out from behind the trunk, dead.

"That makes two kills for me," DSR-50 smiled. "Are you all right, sir?"

Ralph brushed the snow off himself. "Yeah. Nice shot."

HK416, apparently having had enough of this waiting, stepped out from behind the tree she was using as cover.

"Hey! What are you -" was all Ralph managed to get out before 416 fired a grenade from her underbarrel launcher.

The projectile sailed through the air and landed in between a few trees nearby the vespid's corpse. It exploded and sent slivers of tree bark and clumps of snow flying everywhere, though it didn't appear as if any Sangvis Ferri Dolls had been hit.

Ralph glared at her. "Don't just randomly -"

Once again he was interrupted by 416's grenade launcher, and this time she chose a different spot a few meters to the right. This second grenade shot exploded another tree trunk, and a pair of rippers emerged from behind it, one of them limping and the other outright crawling due to her injuries. Both were summarily dispatched with a quick couple bursts from G11's assault rifle.

"Now there's seven left," 416 said simply, heading back behind cover.

 _Okay… While that seemed to be effective, it also drew a lot more attention to this area than our gunfire already did. 416 also has a limited number of grenades and probably doesn't want to waste them all here,_ Ralph figured, trying to find a way to eliminate the remaining enemy units as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Following the loud chaos that 416's grenades had caused, UMP45 managed to slip away from her tree trunk and head over to Ralph and DSR-50.

"Look at this." UMP45 showed them the satellite radio, which depicted the seven remaining dots moving away from the site of the firefight.

"They're running away?" DSR-50 frowned.

"Guess they decided it's best to cut their losses and just report their sighting of us back at their base," Ralph assumed.

" _Ja_. What do you say? Should we chase them down?" UMP45 asked. "Personally I think it is better if we ignore them. Our mission is to meet up with the AR Team, not to fight Sangvis Ferri patrols. If we chase after them, not only do we go off course, we also run a higher risk of sustaining casualties, which would hinder our movement speed."

"Won't Sangvis Ferri send out even more patrols to hunt us down if we let them get away?" DSR-50 worried.

"Yeah, but they'll probably mainly look around this area. If we keep moving down the path the AR Team laid out for us, we won't be sticking around long enough for any patrols to find us," Ralph said.

"That's wishful thinking," UMP45 sighed. "But luckily, we have a solution to that. I know a place where Sangvis patrols don't pass through, and unlike the the safe haven we were originally planning to set up camp in, this one is much closer to our position."

"All right, let's get moving, then. Let's just cut through the clearing since it will be faster and I need to recover the satellite radio I threw," Ralph decided.

Once the Sangvis patrol had fully retreated, Ralph relayed the plan to the rest of the echelon, and the T-Dolls and Kalina emerged from their cover and began heading down into the clearing.

"Whew… I was hoping we wouldn't run into any patrols," Kalina sighed, walking beside her commander.

"Eh, we weren't supposed to, but shit happens," Ralph shrugged. "Maybe they sent out those patrols because they knew the AR Team was in the area? Either way, we slipped past them this time with no injuries, so all we lost was a bit of time and ammo."

They then passed through the clearing, recovering the satellite radio along the way, and then headed back into the forest on the other side. They continued onwards towards the mountains in the distance.

"We're going into the mountains?" RO635 questioned.

"Yes. We are safest from Sangvis patrols in there," UMP45 stated.

"Isn't it dangerous to go there? There has to be a reason why Sangvis Ferri doesn't venture that way," Kar98k asked.

UMP45 shrugged. "Is it really more dangerous than staying here and waiting for an SF patrol to eliminate us?"

"Why do we have to work with such weakling Dolls," 416 scoffed.

"What was that?" Kar98k frowned, not taking kindly to that comment.

"And they have bad hearing too," 416 smirked.

"Urgh… What an uppity brat," Kar98k scowled.

"Oh? If you have a problem with me, why not try doing this mission by yourself without us here to babysit you?" 416 continued to taunt.

"Quiet, idiots," Ralph barked at them. "Keep moving. Let's not waste any more time."

UMP45 led the group further away from the forest and closer to the mountains. They were back out in the open, snowy tundra, plainly visible to any passing Sangvis patrols. Luckily, the backup that the previous SF group that they ran into requested had not arrived yet, so the the G&K squad was able to safely reach the base of the mountain range.

"We'll continue through here for a bit," UMP45 pointed towards a barely-visible, beaten-down path that snaked in through the tall peaks surrounding the group.

"Hm, so we're not actually climbing up any of them? Not bad, then," Ralph mused.

"Sangvis Ferri patrols don't come through here because of how out-of-the-way it is," UMP45 explained as they continued walking. "Naturally, they don't suspect that anyone would take this long way around rather than just cutting straight through the tundra."

Barely five minutes passed before G11 started complaining. "416… I'm tiiiiired. Can you carry me?"

"Shut the hell up," came 416's curt response.

"Eeeeeeh?" G11 whined. She fell in stride with Ralph "Commander, will you carry me, then?"

Ralph laughed. "Haha! My T-Dolls carry me, not the other way around."

"Oh… You're lucky," G11 drawled.

"Don't listen to him. It's only G36 who takes pity on him and babies him like that," WA2000 provided. "And weren't you just telling G36 not to say that stuff out loud, Commander…?"

416 turned to glance at WA2000. "Funny. I guess all WA2000-model Dolls are tsunderes."

"Wha -! I am not!" WA2000 protested, blushing.

"I'm surprised you even know what those are. You must have been called that before, right?" UMP9 grinned.

"T-That's besides the point!" WA2000 continued to deny. "And what do you mean by 'all WA2000-model Dolls'? There's another version of me?"

"Hm? I thought I remembered telling you this already," UMP45 said. "You aren't the first WA2000 T-Doll. There was another one built before you."

Suddenly, WA2000 recalled the conversation she had with the two UMPs when she first met them back at Headquarters.

"Oh… I think you did tell me that before, actually," WA2000 acknowledged. "That Doll died, right? That must have been why they built me…"

UMP45 shrugged. "Yeah, she's listed as MIA in Grifon's official database."

"Good thing too. The last thing we need is another annoying cunt around here," Ralph said, spitting a stream of tobacco onto the snow as they walked.

"Hahaha! You jinxed it, sir!" UMP9 laughed.

"Huh?" Ralph replied, confused.

The group came to a stop as UMP45 halted at the head of the pack. In the distance and sheltered underneath one of the mountains was a small, wooden shack. The area was so remote that it was hard to believe that anyone was living here, but smoke was emanating from the chimney of the house and faint lights could be seen from within the windows, indicating that it was indeed occupied. Several meters away from the house and out in the open, snowy field was what appeared to be a heliport. Someone was clearly maintaining the heliport as all the lights still functioned and it had been cleared of any snow.

"Here we are," UMP45 presented. "This wasn't really part of the plan, but we'll rest here for tonight."

"Woah, there's a helipad out here? That's not listed on our maps…" Kalina blinked, confused.

"It doesn't get much use. The only people who really use it are us when we're doing missions in this area, along with the ones living in that house," 416 gestured towards the cabin.

"Who would live out here?" DSR-50 asked.

"Those who have no other choice," UMP45 smiled mysteriously. "Come on, let's go."

Slightly hesitantly, the group followed UMP45 as they walked towards the cabin in the distance. A light snowfall began, soft, white flecks drifting downwards from the night sky.

"This isn't some sort of trap, is it?" Ralph asked suspiciously.

UMP45 chuckled at that. "My, so untrusting. Of course it's not a trap, sir."

"We'd never do anything like that!" UMP9 assured Ralph cheerily.

"Yes, I'm sure I imagined that time in Thailand where you almost got my entire squad murdered," Ralph pointed out sharply.

"That was only because you got in our way. Just don't do that again and you'll have nothing to worry about," HK416 replied with a smirk.

"We're all on the same side this time, so there's not going to be any of that," UMP45 assured the commander. "After all, though this is formally a G&K mission, it's your father who's paying for this operation. Surely he wouldn't like it if we killed you along the way?"

 _I don't know about that,_ Ralph thought. _I'm sure if Squad 404 made my death look like an accident, Mr. Asterid would not give two shits as long as he got those codes. Better if I don't tell them that, though._

UMP45 knocked on the door of the cabin. A few seconds later, a familiar-looking face answered the door.

"Squad 404," the WA2000 T-Doll said upon opening the door. Her crimson eyes narrowed mistrustingly as she looked at the large group behind 404. "Who are they?"

"What!? It's WA2000!" Ralph blurted out, amazed.

"So this is what the point of that story about the old model WA2000 T-Doll was," Kar98k noted.

"Yep. Everyone, meet WA2000. The first WA2000 Doll commissioned by Grifon, to be exact," UMP45 introduced. "She goes by 2000, so you can call her that to avoid confusing her with our own."

"Hah!?" Ralph's WA2000 pushed her way to the front of the group to get a better look. "W-What the hell? She's me!"

The WA2000 in the cabin scowled. "Actually, _you_ are _me_. I'm the original."

"Hey, 2000, is something the matter?" a man's voice came from somewhere within the cabin.

"It's Squad 404! And they've brought a bunch of T-Dolls too!" 2000 shouted back into the cabin.

"Who are you talking to?" Ralph asked curiously as he poked his head in.

"Hey! No one gave you permission to enter!" 2000 shrieked, pushing Ralph out of the cabin.

Ralph grinned. "Woah, you really are WA2000. Your outfit is a little different, but that's it."

Sure enough, unlike Ralph's WA2000, the WA2000 in the cabin was not dressed in the G&K-issued uniform. Instead, she was wearing jeans and a thick sweater, and her hair was completely down instead of being up in a side ponytail. Aside from that, the two WA2000s looked and sounded exactly the same.

"So, can we come in or what?" 416 asked impatiently.

2000 glared at her. "Why are you even here in the first place? We were never told that you were coming."

"You know how the nature of our work is. We don't exactly have everything perfectly planned out in advance," UMP45 told her. "But, since we've been helping you out, surely you can do us a favor this time?"

2000 crossed her arms and shot an unfriendly look at Ralph and his squad. "If it's just you four then maybe, but who are these guys? Don't tell me they're from Grifon…"

UMP45 shrugged. "What can I say? We're on a mission with G&K right now. But don't worry, this has nothing to do with you, so just let us stay for a bit and then we'll be on our way like we were never here in the first place."

"You think that's going to convince me? You can't bring them to a place like this!" 2000 declared angrily. She then glanced again at WA2000. "So they really made another Doll like me, huh…"

WA2000 frowned. "I was told you were dead…"

Before 2000 could reply to that, a man appeared in the doorway beside her. He was about as tall as Ralph, and he had light brown hair and weary green eyes. He looked young, probably in his early thirties. He was dressed in a sweater and black slacks, and a faded scar ran across his left cheekbone.

"Oh, what's this? We sure have a lot of visitors tonight," the man greeted in a slight Russian accent, surprised. "It's Squad 404 and… Who are the rest of you?"

"I'm Ralphie," Ralph said simply. "Who're you?"

"My name is Osip," the man said. "Former commander in the PMC Grifon & Kryuger. Nice to meet you, Ralphie."


End file.
